The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry is gaining international prestige, as made evident by the 2015 QS worldwide university rankings. The University of Alberta medical school jumped to the 51-100 category in this year's list, which was revealed this morning, as compared to position 101-150 in the 2014 list.
"It's an inspiration to see our medical school rise so far in international rankings," says Richard Fedorak, interim dean of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. "This is truly a collective success shared by the support staff who ensure that our programs operate smoothly, the students who hold so much passion for their education, and the academic and clinical faculty members who invest in the education of their junior colleagues."
To celebrate this accolade, here are the top 20 highlights of education and research excellence from the last year:
1. Edmonton Manual
The third edition of the Edmonton Manual, written by UAlberta medical students, outlines more than 140 clinical encounters to help students around the world prepare for exams.
2. Representing Canada
Connie Lebrun, a professor in the Department of Medicine, heads to the Sochi Olympics. There, she cares for Canada's most elite athletes as the chief physician for Team Canada.
3. Excellence in teaching
Surgical professor Jonathan White is named a 3M National Teaching Fellow for his work with the popular podcast/vodcast Surgery 101. He is the faculty's sixth 3M Fellow.
4. Rewriting the status quo
UAlberta medical school accommodates Jessica Dunkley, Canada's first deaf Metis physician, as she joins the Public Health and Preventative Medicine residency program.
5. Inclusive medicine
UAlberta medical students, including Anthony Lott (pictured), organize the first Inclusive Health Conference to promote LGBTQ health education. A second conference was held in 2015.
6. Alberta's family doctors
Record-shattering numbers of medical graduates enter family medicine residencies to address Alberta's growing need for family doctors.
7. World-class scholars
Four graduate students secure Vanier Scholarships and, for the first time in the medical school's history, two Rhodes Scholars graduate together.
8. National leaders
Toshifumi Yokota, assistant professor of medical genetics, assumes a leading role in a national neuromuscular disease network.
9. Gold-plated accreditation
In a "gold-plated" accreditation review, the UAlberta medical school is found to be compliant with all 132 accrediting standards and receives unqualified accreditation for eight years.
10. Understanding cancer
Cancer researcher John Lewis documents invadopodia in cancer cells for the first time. These finger-like appendages project from tumour cells to attack healthy tissue in a process called extravasation.
11. A lifetime of dedication
Professor emerita Anne Fanning receives the Canadian Medical Association's highest honour, the Frederic Newton Gisborne Starr Award, for a lifetime of dedication to tuberculosis prevention.
12. Saving infants
Pediatricians Po-Yin Cheung and Georg Schmölzer pioneer a new neonatal resuscitation technique that more than doubles survival rates.
13. Global mental health
Using telecommunications, Saleem Al-Nuaimi, a psychiatry resident, establishes a network of physicians to offer much-needed psychiatric care to Syrian refugees.
14. Improved transplant organs
A team of researchers led by Jason Dyck aim to revolutionize heart transplants by improving durability of donated organs with the help of the single largest award in the history of the University Hospital Foundation.
15. Falling Walls
Nermeen Youssef, a PhD student, takes second place at the Falling Walls Lab finale in Berlin for her diabetes research. She proposed using blue light to stimulate insulin secretion in engineered fat cells.
16. Decoding genes
Richard Rachubinski, chair of the Department of Cell Biology, takes the lead on a national study to decode the molecular function of genes and specific gene mutations.
17. Addressing pediatric obesity
Geoff Ball, a UAlberta expert on pediatric obesity, becomes the lead of a national team that will investigate severe pediatric obesity in Canada. This projected was funded by a $1.6 million grant over the next five years.
18. Former dean honoured
Former dean Tom Marrie is inducted into the Order of Canada as member, a designation to celebrate contributions to a special field at a local or regional level.
19. Improving cancer care
The University of Alberta opens its doors to the new bachelor of science in radiation therapy, which promotes a targeted approach to cancer treatment.
20. Faculty member wins Killam Prize
Lorne Tyrrell is awarded the 2015 Killam Prize in Health Sciences for a lifetime of advancements in health sciences, including his advancements with hepatitis B and C.