Congratulations to FoMD’s 2024 Alumni Award recipients

Three Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry alumni were recently recognized by the University of Alberta’s Alumni Association for their professional achievements, community service and innovation.

The Alumni Awards recognize these contributions and tell the stories of our exceptional alumni, inspiring us all to lead with purpose.

Atul Malhotra, ’88 BSc, ’92 MD, Distinguished Alumni Award

A global authority in breathing and sleeping issues, Atul Malhotra is leading research, treating patients and mentoring the next generation of doctors. After graduating from our medical school, the Edmonton native trained in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic and pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at Harvard. He is currently an academic physician at the University of California in San Diego.

Malhotra specializes in sleep apnea — a condition in which people stop breathing while they sleep — while also working with patients experiencing disorders ranging from respiratory failure and sepsis to narcolepsy. His impressive body of research includes more than 800 published works, while his focus on obstructive sleep apnea — which affects about 20 per cent of the population — led to treatments that are more effective and less expensive.

Watch this video about his work.

Fatima Mraiche, ’04 BSc(Spec), ’10 PhD, Alumni Honour Award

Fatima Mraiche is a transformative educator whose work to promote teaching standards is guided by her lab excellence, classroom effectiveness and firm belief that students deserve care, support and knowledge.

Mraiche spent 12 years at Qatar University’s College of Pharmacy, where her recognition of the importance of equipping students with skills to be successful health professionals led her to explore novel approaches and evidence-informed teaching methods.

Now a U of A associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Mraiche became the university’s Vargo Teaching Chair in July 2023, recognizing her dedication to promoting academic teaching practices and curriculum innovation. In June 2024, her academic educational leadership and impactful research earned her the Distinguished Service and Education Award from the Canadian Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Read more about her work.

Stephanie Liu, ’13 MD, ’15 PostgradCert(MedEd), Alumni Horizon Award

Necessity is the mother of invention, and motherhood inspired family physician Stephanie Liu to become an online innovator who delivers evidence-based health information for moms and little ones. Her blog, Life of Dr. Mom, was launched after the birth of her first child to debunk unscientific information shared on parenting blogs. It established her as a relatable, credible source of information — on topics ranging from breastfeeding to postpartum depression — that she shares with 150,000-plus social media followers and as an expert commentator for major media outlets.

In addition to her medical practice and work as a U of A assistant clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine, the entrepreneur has also launched By Dr. Mom, an infant skin care line; and Pomme MD, an electrolyte beverage.