Doctors Manitoba announced the recipients of its annual Top 40 Under 40 Awards. The list of award-winners includes nine UM students, 10 UM residents and 21 practicing physicians from all regions of Manitoba (many of whom are UM alumni and/or faculty members in the Max Rady College of Medicine.) Read more.
FACULTY
Dr. John Ataguba, Canada Research Chair in Health Economics and associate professor of community health sciences, was selected to be a member of the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics as a leading global researcher on health inequalities. Read more.
Dr. Silvia Cardona, professor of medical microbiology and infectious diseases, is the recipient of a University of Manitoba/UMFA Merit Award in the combination of teaching, service and research.
Dr. Marc Del Bigio, professor of pathology, was elected to the position of vice-president of the International Society of Neuropathology.
Dr. Michelle Driedger, professor and head of the department of community health sciences, has been elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the country’s most esteemed association of scholars and scientists. Read more.
Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, professor of physiology and pathophysiology, and Canada Research Chair in molecular cardiology, was honoured with the Order of Manitoba. Read more. He is also the recipient of the James Willerson Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Sciences from the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences.
Dr. Don Klassen, associate head of distributed medical education for the department of family medicine, was awarded both the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and the Southern Health/Sante Sud (or SHSS) Regional Medical Advisory Council’s Physician Emeritus Award. Read more.
Dr. Denise Koh, assistant professor, is the recipient of the Most Influential Filipina Woman in the World Award from the Foundation for Filipina Women’s Network. Read more.
Dr. Seint Kokokyi, assistant professor of clinical health psychology, was named a leadership fellow by the Coalition of National Racial and Ethnic Psychological Associations.
Dr. Lisa Lix, Canada Research Chair in Methods for Electronic Health Data Quality and professor of community health sciences, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics. The award honors an individual who has dedicated their career and made extraordinary contributions over their lifetime to the field of epidemiology or biostatistics in Canada.
Dr. Grant Pierce was appointed Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions as a distinguished professor of physiology and pathophysiology and for identifying the value of foods like flaxseed in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Read more.
Dr. Pierre Plourde, professor of community health sciences, is the recipient of the Exceptional Leadership Award, University of Ottawa Alumni Award of Distinction.
Dr. Norah Vincent, professor of clinical health psychology, received the Award for Excellence in Professional Training from the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs.
In 2023, Web of Science identified Dr. George Zhanel, professor and associate head of the department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases, as one of the world’s most influential researchers selected among an elite group recognized for exceptional research influence, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1 per cent by citations for field and year.
The following faculty members from the Max Rady College of Medicine received UM Merit Awards in the Life Sciences, Natural Sciences and Engineering category:
- Combination:
- Dr. Michael Czubryt, department of physiology and pathophysiology
- Dr. Mojgan Rastegar, department of biochemistry and medical genetics
- Research, Scholarly Work and Creative Activities:
- Dr. Vernon Dolinsky, department of pharmacology and therapeutics
- Dr. Lyle McKinnon, department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases
- Teaching:
- Dr. Sari Hannila, department of human anatomy and cell science
- Read more.
STUDENTS
PhD candidate Leah Crockett is the recipient of a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, Canada’s most prestigious postdoctoral award. Read more.
Nolan De Leon, an MD/PhD student, is a recipient of the 2023 Dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Student Achievement Prize. Read more.
Morgan Hiebert, master’s student in medical microbiology and infectious diseases, is the recipient of the Fall 2021/Winter 2022 Session Dean of Graduate Studies Achievement Prize for graduate students who have completed at least one year of study with high academic standing and have demonstrated leadership abilities, outstanding performance in teaching or mentoring, volunteerism and intellectual and academic attainment of a high standard.
Mikayla Hunter, a master’s student in community health sciences, is a recipient of the 2023 Dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Student Achievement Prize. Read more.
PhD student Samuel Ogunsola received a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for his genetics research. Vanier Scholars are considered Canada’s top graduate students and receive a scholarship of $150,000 over three years towards their research. Read more.
The following members of the department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases (MMID) received awards at the 2023 Prairie Infectious Immunology Network (PIIN) Conference:
- PIIN Awards – Excellence in Research: Shanelle Gingras, PhD candidate (Dr. Paul McLaren, advisor)
- Emergence Biosolutions: Excellence in Research
- Michelle Perner, PhD, JC Wilt Infectious Diseases Research Centre
- Riley Tough, PhD candidate (Dr. Paul McLaren, advisor)
- Carmine Slipski, PhD, MMID and department of chemistry and biochemistry, UM
RESIDENTS
Drs. Megan Sorokopud-Jones and Parisa Selseleh, who are residents in internal medicine, won the below research prizes. Their excellence is in large part due to the great environment, projects and supervision by Dr. Yoav Keynan, head of the section of infectious diseases and associate professor of internal medicine, and Dr. Zulma Rueda, Canada Research Chair in Sexually Transmitted Infection – Resistance and Control and associate professor of medical microbiology and infectious diseases.
- 2nd prize, Original Investigation: Dr. Megan Sorokopud-Jones, PGY3 – Internal Medicine. High rates of sexually transmitted and blood borne co-infections among people living with HIV who are females, using methamphetamines and experiencing houselessness in Manitoba, Canada.
- 3rd prize, Original Investigation: Dr. Parisa Selseleh, PGY2 – Internal Medicine. Testing and treatment for tuberculosis infection and disease, and programmatic outcomes among people diagnosed with HIV in Manitoba between 2018 to 2022.