Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award - 2017 Recipients

Congratulations! (click recipient name to read bio)

PHILIP EDGCUMBE

The ICF Films | University of British Columbia
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
in honour of Dr. Bryce Taylor

FINOLA HACKETT

The University of Alberta
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD

LAUREN CAPOZZI

The Marty Kelman and Gilda Tanz / University of Calgary
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
in honour of Saul and Mildred Kelman

ALI JAMAL

The Dr. Calvin R. Stiller | University of Saskatchewan
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD

ALYSSA ARCHIBALD

The ICF Films | University of Manitoba
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
in honour of Dr. Bryce Taylor

TAVIS APRAMIAN

The Charles Tabachnick
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
at Western University

RONALD LEUNG

The Dr. Bryce Taylor | McMaster University
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
in honour of Bernie and Marian Taylor

AMANDA KHAN

The Dr. Robert and Sharon Francis | University of Toronto
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD

BENJAMIN CASSIDY

The Dr. Bryce Taylor | Northern Ontario School of Medicine
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
in honour of Bernie and Marian Taylor

STEVEN BAE

The Queen's University
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD

ZACHARY FERRARO

The Marty Kelman and Gilda Tanz | University of Ottawa
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
in honour of Saul and Mildred Kelman

TIANWEI (ELLEN) ZHOU

The Dr. Robert and Sharon Francis | McGill University
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD

CHARLES-ANTOINE BARBEAU-MEUNIER

The Marty Kelman and Gilda Tanz | Université de Sherbrooke
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
in honour of Saul and Mildred Kelman

CAROLINE DALLAIRE-THÉROUX

The Marty Kelman and Gilda Tanz | Université Laval
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
in honour of Saul and Mildred Kelman

BRAYDON CONNELL

The Dalhousie Medical Alumni Association
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
at Dalhousie University

MICHAEL BARTELLAS

The Charles Tabachnick
CANADIAN MEDICAL HALL OF FAME AWARD
at Memorial University of Newfoundland

 

Philip Edgcumbe
Dr. Philip Edgcumbe (PhD) is an innovator, entrepreneur, and scientist. Philip aims to positively impact the health of a billion people by connecting medicine, biomedical research, and entrepreneurship. He is completing his MDPhD at the University of British Columbia and conducts research with medical doctors and scientists. He spent the summer of 2016 in Silicon Valley at Singularity University applying exponential technologies to medical innovation. In May, Philip started as Bold Innovator (Project Lead) for the Alzheimer’s XPRIZE. As Bold Innovator, Philip is developing a proposal for a multi-million dollar incentive prize to catalyze a major breakthrough in Alzheimer's research.

Philip’s interests include neuroscience, computational biophysics and augmented reality surgical navigation. In 2013 he was the medical expert for a company focusing on early Alzheimer’s detection and in 2016 he co-founded Lume Biotics, a company developing a device for phototherapy treatment of antibiotic infections. While completing his PhD, Philip received the Outstanding Young Scientist award at the MICCAI conference for his invention of the Pico Lantern, a miniature projector for surgical guidance in minimally invasive surgery that he patented and licensed. Philip is a recipient of Canada’s top graduate scholarship (Vanier) and UBC’s top leadership award (Nestor Korchinsky).

Inspired by 2009 Laureate Dr. Sylvia Fedoruk

Top of page

 

Finola Hackett
Finola is passionate about creating and expanding initiatives to address the social and environmental determinants of health. She organised educational sessions for medical students on refugee and migrant health in the Global Health Advocacy pre-clerkship elective, and has worked to integrate public health content in innovative formats (such as group-based learning and model UN simulation) into the MD program curriculum at the University of Alberta. She is currently part of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students’ environmental task force, collaborating to integrate climate change, sustainability and health into medical education. She previously interned at the World Health Organization, where she contributed to projects on the health co-benefits of sustainable development, and served as WHO Intern Board Vice-President.

Finola also enjoys representing her peers and aiming to foster leadership in her community of future professionals. As Alberta Medical Association representative, she spearheaded the University of Alberta’s inaugural AMA Advocacy Night, which showcased student leadership and advocacy initiatives and allowed them to gain guidance from community and academic mentors. She has served as student delegate to the AMA Representative Forum and Board of Directors. Finola has also worked to bring student interests to government, faculty, and other stakeholders on the topic of physician workforce planning through extensive consultation and advocacy to ensure trainee perspectives play a role in the development of a needs-based physician resource plan for Alberta.

Inspired by 2016 Laureate Dr. C. David Naylor

Top of page

 

Lauren Capozzi
Lauren is an MD/PhD student in the Leaders in Medicine program at the University of Calgary, with a passion for chronic disease management through behavioural health and physical rehabilitation approaches. After watching her father face many physical challenges following his cancer diagnosis, she was motivated to pursue research investigating the role of health promotion, physical exercise and rehabilitation to improve function and quality of life in patients facing disease. Throughout her PhD training, she was nationally recognized for her work in cancer rehabilitation, has delivered over 75 presentations and published over 35 articles, abstracts and book chapters. As an innovator in cancer rehabilitation, Lauren co-founded the first student-run fitness centre for cancer survivors, the Thrive Centre, and was honoured in Avenue Calgary’s class of 2015 Top 40 Under 40. With a passion for leadership and health advocacy, she has been active in student government, played a key role in a health promotion and disease prevention undergraduate medical curriculum review, and facilitates community exercise classes and training for exercise professionals. Lauren aims to dedicate her career to discovering and implementing effective ways to improve physical function and quality of life for those living with cancer and other chronic conditions.

Inspired by 2010 Laureate Dr. Vera Peters

Top of page

 

Ali Jamal
Ali is a third year medical student at the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to his medical studies, Ali completed his Bachelor of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto and worked in Northern communities in Ontario. Ali is particularly passionate about surgery and surgical education, clinical research and community engagement. He organized the inaugural Early Surgical Program at the University of Saskatchewan during the summer of 2017 to expose medical students to opportunities in surgery. Ali is heavily involved in many basic science and clinical research studies. Most recently, he is investigating the use of Virtual Reality as an innovative tool within medical education. Ali is involved in various leadership positions within local community initiatives, including co-founding iHear Saskatoon, a program targeted to improve access to effective and affordable hearing screens for school-aged children.

Inspired by 2009 Laureate Dr. Charles Tator

Top of page

 

Alyssa Archibald
Born and raised in the small town of Killarney, Manitoba, Alyssa has devoted herself to advocacy and improving the experiences of others. Serving as an Academic Representative, she worked closely with faculty to update and improve the University of Manitoba’s renewed pre-clerkship curriculum. Further, she led student advocacy efforts to successfully broaden summer research opportunities for students, advocated to increase examination feedback and brought initiatives such as student-led mock-OSCE examinations to her peers. Alyssa’s interests in pediatrics have driven her to conduct research in neonatology and maternal-child health both before and during medical school, as well as to serve as an Executive for the Pediatric Interest Group. Prior to medical school, she completed her BSc (Hons) in Biology at the University of Manitoba, where she shared her passion for science while teaching over 800 students in undergraduate science labs. She also assisted in the development of a new lab curriculum for an advanced undergraduate course, and travelled to South Africa where she designed and conducted behavioural ecology research. Inspired by her mentors and colleagues, Alyssa looks forward to continuing to advocate for students in her role as Vice-Stick Internal for her medical society this upcoming year.

Inspired by 2017 Laureate Dr. Richard Goldbloom

Top of page

 

Tavis Apramian
Tavis is a medical student in the MD/PhD program at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University. His medical education research focuses on workplace-based learning and assessment in surgery and his medical student government work focuses on early clinical exposure, social accountability, and interprofessional education.

Tavis was born and raised in rural northern Ontario. He completed a BA (Biology & English) and an MA (English) at Carleton University, a MSc (Narrative Medicine) at Columbia University, and a PhD (Health Professional Education) at Western University. His writing has appeared in literary journals and in medical publications such as the CMAJ. His research is published in peer-reviewed journals such as Annals of Surgery, Qualitative Research, Academic Medicine, Medical Education, American Journal of Surgery, Medical Teacher, and others.

The overall thrust of his career works toward making medical education a more transparent and accessible process that serves the needs of the public. Tavis believes medical education that focuses on learner needs can engage students in designing a dynamic educational system. For Tavis, it will be through art, patient stories, workplace exposure, and technology-enhanced learning that medical education will evolve to meet the needs of patients in the 21st century.

Inspired by 2014 Laureate Dr. Jock Murray

Top of page

 

Ronald Leung
Ronald is completing his final year of medicine at McMaster University, previously graduating with a Bachelor of Health Sciences. He believes in the capability of personal narratives in addressing stigma and inspiring conversation; the classical works of Anton Checkov in addition to contemporaries like Paul Kalanithi speaks to the potential of physician-writers to translate the spectrum of human nature experienced in medicine to a broader audience. Ronald’s written work has previously won accolades and is most recently featured by the Association for Academic Psychiatry. Having witnessed the difficulty of health care access for disenfranchised populations, Ronald focused on advocating for greater socioeconomic equity in medical school admissions in order to facilitate a representative physician demographic. His work led him to collaborate with the Ontario Medical Students Association to publish a position paper on this topic and he has also led a city-wide initiative with local high schools to bring outreach panels involving residents and medical students directly to student classrooms. Additionally, he is a proponent of mental health education and research, co-authoring a number of publications and planning an addictions medicine half-day for fellow learners. Ronald is humbled to receive this honour and aspires to strengthen patient and practitioner narratives to bring a focus to the human condition in medicine.

Inspired by 2015 Laureate Dr. John McCrae

Top of page

 

Amanda Khan
Amanda was born in Trinidad and Tobago. She immigrated to Canada and was accepted into the Toronto District School Board’s Gifted Program from Grades 3 to 12. She then obtained her Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences from the University of Western Ontario in 2009. She continued at Western to complete her Masters of Science in Medical Biophysics in 2011. In 2012 she was admitted to the MD/PhD Program at the University of Toronto. In this program, she is working towards earning both an MD medical degree and PhD doctoral degree in Biomedical Engineering.

Amanda’s PhD work focuses on making surgery safer. She is currently investigating what the safe limits of force are for various gastrointestinal tissues when handled by laparoscopic tools. She is also working on the creation of novel laparoscopic devices that automatically prevents surgeons from exerting too much force on delicate tissues in the body. Amanda was awarded the most prestigious graduate research prize in Canada for her doctoral research, the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

Amanda has been featured on the CBC program “Canada’s Smartest Person” as a contestant and was awarded Canada’s Most Powerful Women - Top 100 Award, for the Under 30 Future Leaders category.

Inspired by 1998 Laureate Dr. Roberta Bondar

Top of page

 

Benjamin Cassidy
Benjamin Cassidy lived in Germany for a few years after high school before returning to Canada to complete an Honours BSc specializing in Psychology at York University. His undergraduate thesis explored the preservation of spatial memory in patients with developmental amnesia. He went on to complete an MA in Psychology and a Neuroscience Graduate Diploma while conducting research on hippocampal electrophysiological correlates of spatial memory. Afterwards, he took time away from his own education and began managing an international cognitive aging project in the Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuro-intervention Laboratory (Dr. Gary Turner) and the Laboratory of Brain and Cognition (Dr. Nathan Spreng). Benjamin has long been an advocate of marginalized groups, particularly the LGBT2-SQ+ and Indigenous communities, and has firsthand experience regarding the barriers these individuals face when trying to access health care, in particular mental health services. He felt called to medicine to both address equitable health care access for all as well as to hold peoples’ hands and be present through some of the scariest times of their lives. As a medical student, Benjamin has been involved with local, provincial and national projects and organizations focused on student and patient advocacy. Benjamin is an avid reader and writer, world traveler, Crossfit and plant-based diet enthusiast, and values contemplative practice.

Inspired by 1997 Laureate Dr. Brenda Milner

Top of page

 

Steven Bae
Steven was one of ten students accepted into the inaugural Queen’s Accelerated Route to Medical School (QuARMS) program. Fascinated by his unique educational background, Steven explored other innovations in medical education. He helped initiate a novel service learning program in partnership with Loving Spoonful, a local non-profit that provides an experiential opportunity to learn about the social determinants of health. Steven has served on the education committees of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students and the Ontario Medical Students Association most recently co-leading a study to identify barriers to mentorship for medical students. As a student representative on the QuARMS curriculum committee, Steven organized a session for the first-year undergraduates to facilitate thoughtful discussion on challenges that QuARMS students uniquely face. Steven has also contributed to the open-access online medical education platform, MEDSKL, created by Dr. Sanjay Sharma. Meanwhile, Steven is actively engaged in a number of clinical and medical education research projects. He has published several first-author papers and delivered presentations at national and international meetings. Steven hopes to pursue an academic career in ophthalmology, combining his passions in medical education and clinical research.   

Inspired by 2016 Laureate Dr. Gordon Guyatt

Top of page

 

Zachary Ferraro
Zach was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario. His interest in science began at an early age. As the eldest of four children, he has fond memories of exploring the community and interacting with a variety of people. These experiences sparked his desire to learn about the human condition.

Over the years, he has volunteered extensively with the Ontario Special Olympics and the Global Youth Volunteer Network. Zach has served as an ambassador and advocate with the Canadian Obesity Network, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), The Ottawa Hospital and several other regional, national & international health agencies.

He received a Bachelor of Kinesiology from McMaster University and obtained his MSc in Human Health & Nutritional Science from the University of Guelph. Prior to starting his MD, Dr. Ferraro obtained his PhD in maternal-fetal physiology in the Adamo lab at the University of Ottawa, held a CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health and was a part-time professor in the school of Human Kinetics at uOttawa. He continues to work on a causal basis with the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at The Ottawa Hospital. To date, Zach has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and given over 100 public presentations.

Inspired by 2006 Laureate Dr. Hans Selye and 2016 Laureate Dr. C. David Naylor

Top of page

 

Tianwei Zhou
Born in Guangzhou, China, Tianwei obtained her B.Sc. degree at McGill and is currently a fourth year MD-PhD student (McGill). Her PhD thesis focuses on Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a blinding eye disease that affects many premature infants. Tianwei’s studies revealed, for the first time, that ROP is not a static disease but a dynamic progression with detrimental impact on patients’ vision. This notion highlights the importance of longitudinal follow-ups for infants with former ROP to prevent long-term sequelae. Starting in December 2016, she is a Section Editor of Journal of Eye Science.

Tianwei has been the Finance Committee Chair and is the current Vice-President of the Clinician-Investigator Trainee Association of Canada (CITAC). During her tenure, she secured funding for the annual general meetings and advocated for the continuation of MD-PhD scholarships from the Canadian federal government. Fueled with her passion for medicine, Tianwei and her colleagues launched the “Journeys Through Health” Art Exhibition at the new Royal Victoria Hospital. It is the first time in Montreal that a student group has collaborated with a healthcare institution to organize an art exhibition. This Exhibition is also a finalist in the prestigious Forces AVENIR award, which promotes community building in Quebec.

Inspired by 2016 Laureate Dr. Mark Wainberg and 2010 Laureate Dr. William Cochrane

Top of page

 

Charles-Antoine Barbeau-Meunier
Charles-Antoine's path to date is an eclectic blend of disciplinary fields and unusual dialogues. Its statement is strong: to preserve health, dignity and opportunity for all, the fields of medicine, scientific research and humanities must work hand in hand.

Following a Bachelor's in Communications at Concordia University, Charles-Antoine earned a Master's in Sociology at UQAM. His thesis, exploring the role of empathy in the environmental crisis, was heralded internationally as "the thesis presenting the most pertinent approach in conceiving a shared, communal world". Now completing an MD/PhD at Université de Sherbrooke, Charles-Antoine has been extensively involved in peer education, giving leadership workshops, as well as pre-departure trainings for global health exchanges. Concerned for our environment, he launched an annual environment awareness week on campus, conferences on environmental contaminants, pesticides and climate change, and has done advocacy work protesting Canada's recent investments in pipelines. Finding strength in communities, Charles-Antoine works alongside Quebec's chapter of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. He is currently undertaking PhD work focusing on neurovasculature alterations in neuroinflammatory and degenerative disease, aiming to shed light on pathologies threatening our mind's sanctuary, the brain.

Charles-Antoine is committed to working with peers to build a sustainable future and promote a conscientious medical practice.

Inspired by 1997 Laureate Dr. Brenda Milner

Top of page

 

Caroline Dallaire-Théroux
A committed and ambitious student, Caroline Dallaire-Théroux is passionate about neuroimaging and clinical neurology, which has prompted her to pursue postgraduate studies in neurobiology along with her medical studies. Now a MD-PhD double-tracked student under the direction of Dr. Simon Duchesne, Caroline works closely with neuropsychologists, computer scientists and engineers to develop new medical imaging tools for a better understanding of pathological processes of the central nervous system and the diagnosis of neurological and psychiatric diseases, more specifically those related to aging. Her project focuses on the early detection of Alzheimer's disease through magnetic resonance imaging. Caroline holds a variety of positions in her academic environment: she is Coordinator of the Cerveau en Tête association for the popularization of knowledge about the brain among young people, member of the editorial committee for a medical book based on the principle of learning by peers, and lead research assistant for the writing of a book on the history of medicine at Université Laval. In addition to her academic activities, Caroline is greatly interested in other countries, enabling her to explore the world through numerous medical internships and cultural immersion stays. Her social commitment and involvement in research have earned her several distinctions highlighting her leadership, both humanitarian and scientific. It is with great determination and enthusiasm that Caroline is now embarking in a double career as a clinician-researcher.  

Inspired by 1997 Laureate Dr. Brenda Milner

Top of page

 

Braydon Connell
A lifelong resident of Halifax, Braydon graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Microbiology & Immunology) and Master of Science (Occupational Therapy) from Dalhousie University. He was the president of the Occupational Therapy Student Society and Director of Health Professions with the Graduate Student Association. Braydon’s interest for inter-professional collaboration led him to join HOPES (Halifax Outreach Prevention Education & Support), a student-led inter-professional Health Centre and outreach program providing health education, navigation assistance and clinical care to people who might otherwise fall through the cracks of the health care system. As a co-executive director of HOPES this past year, Braydon helped open the Health Centre – the first student-run-clinic in the Maritime provinces. Braydon also served as the student representative on the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee and now serves as the Internal Medicine representative, participating in discussions regarding medical education, while advocating and representing students’ best interests. Braydon’s experiences have affirmed his passion for medical and inter-professional education, serving marginalized populations and being a leader in health care.

Inspired by 1994 Laureate Dr. William Osler

Top of page

 

Michael Bartellas
While completing his MSc. (Medicine), Michael explored access to mental health services in Atlantic Canada and was recognized as an Academic All-Canadian Athlete (soccer). He received the Dean’s Fellowship, Faculty of Medicine Graduate Scholarship, the Renata Withers Memorial Scholarship, the ARTC Applied Health Services Research Award, and was named a Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies. He was also awarded the President’s Medal of Excellence upon completion of a college carpentry program.

As a medical student, Michael was the principal applicant on successful grant to create Newfoundland and Labrador’s first biomedical three-dimensional printing laboratory, MUN MED 3D. This initiative supported three co-op engineering placements, and more than 40 biomedical projects, including mentoring a high school student to create an emergency craniotomy simulator, which led to a Gold medal prize. Michael has been awarded the Wesley and Jeanne Drodge Award in Simulation, Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada Grant, and Student Innovation Fund Award. He has first author publications in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, and Cureus Journal of Medical Science and has had research presented at five forums including the Canadian Surgery Forum and Canadian Association of Radiologists AGM. Michael is the co-founder of MUN’s Biomedical Engineering Interest Group; President of MUN’s Arts and Medicine Interest group; and is an Education Fellow with the Ultimaker Pioneer Program.

Inspired by 2014 Laureate Dr. Walter Mackenzie

Top of page

About the CMHF

The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (CMHF) celebrates Canadian heroes whose work advances health in Canada and the world, fostering future generations of health professionals through the delivery of local and national youth education programs and awards.

This enduring tribute to our country’s rich medical history is showcased here and in our physical exhibit hall in London, ON.