It’s an exciting time at Dalhousie University—it’s time to celebrate the graduates of the Class of 2023.
In the Faculty of Medicine, convocation activities began on May 15, in Saint John, with the Launch Ceremony celebrating the achievements of our Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick (DMNB) graduating students. This was followed by the Dalhousie Medical School Class of 2023 walking across the stage at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium for convocation on May 30, 2023. I offer my sincere congratulations to the students and all you have achieved. We can’t wait to see what you do next! Read about the medical school journey for some of our graduates here.
I would also like to extend my sincere congratulations to Dr. Erin Sampson, who was awarded the Dalhousie Class of 2023 C.B Stewart Gold Medal in Medicine award. This award recognizes Dr. Samson’s exceptional academic achievements, as she has demonstrated the highest level of excellence throughout her medical education. Congratulations, Dr. Sampson.
Special acknowledgement and appreciation go to the faculty and staff who not only ensured the success of convocation but also served as dedicated guides for these students throughout their four years of training. Your contribution made the day possible.
We have some other exciting events coming up in June, with the 11th Annual Thomas and Alice Morgans Fear Family Memorial Conference happening June 7-9, and the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Laureate Symposium happening on June 22 and 23. Both are great opportunities for learning and collaboration. More details are included below.
And while we celebrate and prepare for June’s exciting activities, we are reminded to support our friends and family, neighbours, and colleagues, who have been affected by the devasting forest fires in our province. I know we are all relieved to see the Tantallon fire is now 100 per cent contained, and progress is being made in the Shelburne area. There is still much to be done, and many have lost their homes. My thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted.
Thanks to all those who have been battling these blazes, and all the volunteers who have supported the efforts. You are true heroes.
After all this devastation and as we move into the summer months, I do hope everyone has some time to enjoy all that our beautiful Atlantic provinces have to offer.
Dalhousie to host Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2023
On June 22, join the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in honouring six outstanding Canadians who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, integrity, and contributions to medicine and the health sciences in Canada or abroad, that have led to extraordinary improvements in human health.
For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
Following the ceremony, on June 23, from 10:30am-1:00pm, you’re invited to the Laureate Symposium, an interactive session where the 2023 inductees will share their remarkable career paths and ground-breaking contributions to health and health sciences.
Interested in attending this free event? Register by June 14 to secure your spot.
11th annual Thomas Fear and Alice Morgans Fear Family Memorial Conference
Dalhousie Continuing Professional Development and Medical Education is hosting the 11th annual Thomas Fear and Alice Morgans Fear Family Memorial Conference June 7-9, 2023, at The Tower Hotel in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is Dalhousie’s first conference on catalysing system change and it will bring together scholars, practitioners, learners, decision makers and the public. Participants will discuss how to generate, teach, and implement meaningful interventions in a complex health system.
Learn more here.
Cape Breton Medical Campus
There has been much excitement around the new Cape Breton Medical Campus, a joint initiative between Dalhousie University and Cape Breton University. In early May, Mr. David Dingwall, President and Vice-Chancellor of CBU, and I were pleased to announce that three well-known local health professionals will take on leadership roles at the Cape Breton Medical Campus. Dr. Kevin Orrell has become Interim Associate Dean, and Dr. Susan MacLeod and Dr. Jim MacKillop have become Family Medicine Special Advisors.
As we move forward with this project, we will continue to keep you informed of our progress. We will be publishing a monthly newsletter, as well updating our website to include information on our progress and how physicians can become involved.
Black Learners Admissions Pathway
The Black Learners Admissions Pathway (BLAP) has been approved for the 2023/2024 application cycle and will reduce barriers faced by Black applicants on their path to medical school by assessing applications using a holistic file review.
Applicants with a substantial connection to historic African Nova Scotian and other Black Maritime communities in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island will be prioritized under the Black Learners Admissions Pathway. Black applicants from across the Maritimes and Canada who report substantial connection to their Black heritage will also be considered under the Black Learners Admissions Pathway, beginning with the 2023/2024 application cycle.
Read more on Dal Med News.
Office of Professional Affairs aims to evolve learning environment
In December 2022, the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie announced a new Office of Professional Affairs (OPA) with a goal to create and maintain a healthy and safe learning environment in the medical school.
Led by the assistant deans of professional affairs, Drs. Ian Epstein (Dalhousie Medicine Nova Scotia) and Samantha Gray (Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick), the OPA is focused on addressing reports of learner mistreatment, and the promotion of professionalism through education and outreach activities.
Dr. Epstein and Dr. Gray are available to those in the Faculty of Medicine wishing to discuss issues of professionalism by contacting DalMedOPA@dal.ca. Individuals with concerns can also access the Confidence Line, the Faculty of Medicine Office of Professional Affairs Safe Reporting platform.
Learn more about the OPA here.
Medical Sciences student claims top academic award
We are proud to announce Mr. Cyril O’Brien was selected as this year’s Governor General’s Silver Medal winner. Announced at convocation on May 31, the Governor General’s Silver Medal is awarded to the undergraduate graduate who has achieved the highest academic standing among graduates of all the baccalaureate programs.
Congratulations, Cyril, on this tremendous honour and all your hard work!
Dalhousie researchers working to assess environmental risks for lung cancer
Congratulations to Dr. Robin Urquhart and her team who have received $5 million from the Canadian Cancer Society to research the biological risk factors for lung cancer posed by environmental factors like radon, arsenic, and air pollution.
Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, but one in five of those with the disease have never smoked. The study will look at biological factors for lung cancers among non-smokers.
Read more on CBC news.
Drs. OmiSoore Dryden and Caitlin Lees receive 2023 New Health Investigator Grants
Earlier this year, Research Nova Scotia (RNS) awarded close to $1 million in New Health Investigator grants to 10 Dalhousie researchers, including six Dalhousie Medicine Faculty. The grants were awarded to scholars early in their careers or new to the province to establish and expand projects that promise to help solve some of our toughest health care challenges. On April 4, Drs. OmiSoore Dryden and Caitlin Lees were added to the list of recipients. Congratulations to you both.
Read more about Drs. Dryden and Lees’ projects here.
Med student recognized by UNB
Congratulations to Dal Med student, Mr. Matthew H. MacLellan, who received the Young Alumni Achievement Award from the University of New Brunswick’s Proudly UNB Awards on April 21 in Saint John, NB.
These awards recognize outstanding UNB alumni and demonstrate UNB’s pride in their accomplishments. Matthew, who graduated from the university in 2020 and who is a current medical student at Dalhousie, is recognized for his dedicated community efforts as founder of the St. John Ambulance Campus Response team, and as former chair of Global Brigades, where he led a fundraising campaign totaling over $20,000 for the purchase of water infrastructure and helped provide Honduras communities with clean drinking water.
More information about the awards can be found at www.unb.ca/proudlyunb.
Dr. Brent Young recognized by CMA
A big congratulations to Dr. Brent Young, who is the recipient of the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA) Award for Young Leaders, recognizing his exemplary dedication, commitment and leadership. In a few short years, Dr. Young has had an incredible impact on Indigenous health outcomes in Halifax. Working with the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre, he opened an urban health centre, where he is now clinical director. He has been instrumental in the development of the Indigenous Admissions Pathway here at Dalhousie, and we will see the first students accepted through this pathway begin medical school this summer. We are so excited to see what he will do next.
Congratulations, Dr. Young!
Read more on CMA.ca.
Dal postdoc wins Mitacs entrepreneurship award for world’s first at‑home test to measure muscle health
On Thursday, May 18, Dalhousie Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Rafaela Andrade took home the Mitacs Outstanding Entrepreneur Award at a gala in Waterloo, Ontario for her ground-breaking at-home test to monitor muscle health and her efforts to bring it to the world. The awards were hosted by Mitacs, a Canadian not-for-profit organization dedicated to boosting the country’s economic growth and innovation by connecting companies and academic institutions.
The revolutionary technology behind Dr. Andrade’s fast-growing company Myomar Molecular Inc. identifies unique and specific molecular changes in urine that are associated with muscle degeneration. They aim to equip medical practitioners and their patients with the information needed to predict the risk of musculoskeletal disease and improve quality of life by catching muscle loss early.
Read more on Dal Med News.
Dr. Cindy Calkin awarded by ASCP
Congratulations to Dr. Cindy Calkin who was awarded the Paul Wender Best Paper in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry by the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP). The award is named in honour of Dr. Paul H. Wender, a pioneer in identifying and treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and presented to a recipient who has been published in the past year for The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Dr. Calkin is a clinical researcher and associate professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Medical Neuroscience here at Dalhousie. She is also the medical director of a unique multidisciplinary clinical research Mood and Metabolism Program. Her research is focused on mechanisms underlying Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Depression (TRBD) and novel mechanism-based targeted treatments.
Well done, Dr. Calkin!
Two faculty members honoured by Canadian Paedatric Society
Congratulations to Drs. Minoli Amit and Ellen Wood, who have been given Life Membership from the Canadian Paedatric Society (CPS), an honour reserved for members who have made a significant contribution to the CPS. Life members have demonstrated tremendous dedication to advancing the health of children by supporting the work of the CPS.
Dr. Amit, a pediatrician at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish, NS., is an assistant professor with the Department of Pediatrics here at Dalhousie University, supervising clinical rotations for learners. She has over 40 years of clinical experience in pediatric acute care, as well as office-based and rural outreach clinic consulting work.
Dr. Wood is a professor in the Division of Pediatric Neurology at Dalhousie. She has been a member of the CPS since her pediatric residency at MUN and the IWK. As a former Pediatric Program Director at MAC and then the IWK (2000-12), Dr. Wood has had the privilege of working with many young pediatricians, contributing to their growth in the field and encouraging their ongoing participation in the CPS.
Read more on CPS.ca.
Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed receives honorary degree from UPEI
On May 19, Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed, Associate Dean, Serving and Engaging Society in the Faculty of Medicine, received an honorary degree from the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) during graduation proceedings for the Faculty of Science. A graduate of UPEI, Dr. Watson-Creed is recognized for her advocacy for high-quality public health services in Canada.
Congratulations to Dr. Watson-Creed on this great honour.
Learn more here.
Dalhousie Medicine alum named Spring Convocation honorary degree recipient
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Edward Cain, a Dalhousie Medical School alumnus and leader in emergency medicine in Nova Scotia, on being named one of two honorary degree recipients awarded at Dalhousie’s Spring Convocation on May 30.
Dr. Cain completed his residency at Dalhousie in 1977 and began a long and dedicated career in emergency medicine, changing the lives of countless Nova Scotians. He has a long list of achievements, including contributing to the creation of the Paramedic Act, which led to paramedicine becoming a self-regulating profession. His research has enabled paramedics to expand their scope of practice, and his research into how to best administer life-saving medicine to heart attack patients has helped save the lives of many. He’s been honoured with the Dr. Ron Stewart Award by the National Association of EMS Physicians, and the Health Promotion Award by Doctors Nova Scotia.
Congratulations, Dr. Cain, on this most deserving honour.
Read more on Dal News.
Dr. W. Ford Doolittle named Fellow of Royal Society
Congratulations to Dr. W. Ford Doolittle, professor emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, who was recently named a Fellow of the Royal Society. Comprised of distinguished scientists, engineers, and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth, the Royal Society stands as a self-governing Fellowship. Through a rigorous peer review process that evaluates scientific excellence, individuals are elected as Fellows or Foreign Members for a lifetime membership.
Dr. Doolittle has been a faculty member in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology since 1971. His research examines prevailing concepts in genomics, molecular biology and microbial ecology, most often as these reflect understandings of evolution by natural selection. In 2013, he received the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSREC), Canada’s highest recognition for scientific research. He was the first researcher in Dalhousie history — and the first from any university east of Quebec — to receive the prestigious $1 million prize, which recognizes career achievement in the sciences.
Congratulations to Dr. Doolittle on all his tremendous accomplishments!
Read more on Dal News.
Dr. Kavish Chandra receives clinical research scholarship
Dr. Kavish Chandra has received a four-year Clinical Research Scholarship in Emergency Medicine from the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation (ResearchNB).
During his scholarship, Dr. Chandra plans to collaborate with emergency medicine colleagues in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to develop an observational airway registry to study critically ill patients who have presented to Atlantic Canadian emergency departments.
Dr. Chris Vaillancourt receives New Brunswick Medical Society Award
Dr. Chris Vaillancourt has been named the recipient of the 2023 Dr. Garfield Moffatt Award from the New Brunswick Medical Society, recognizing his commitment of excellence in patient care, medical education, the community-at-large, and quality of life.
Congratulations Dr. Vaillancourt!
2023 Annual Faculty Meeting
The Annual Faculty Meeting will be held on June 6, 2023, at 5pm. In addition to any business referred to Faculty by Faculty Council, the meeting will include:
- Election of members of Faculty Council
- Election of members of the Nominating Committee
- Reports from the Chair of the Faculty Council
- Reports from the Dean and Associate/Assistant Deans
- Any business raised by Faculty before or during the Annual Meeting
- Presentation of Faculty Awards
An agenda with background information, including written reports, will be circulated prior to the meeting.
This meeting will be presented in Theatre A, as well as virtually.
For more information, please contact Jillian.Slevin@dal.ca.
Awards of Excellence in Leadership Ceremony
Join the Faculty of Medicine on June 15 at 2:00pm for the Awards of Excellence in Leadership Awards Ceremony. Come celebrate and acknowledge the incredible contributions of our staff and those in senior academic leadership positions.
Location: Tupper Theatre A or virtually on Microsoft Teams.
Save the Date: Class of 2027 Dean’s Welcome Ceremony
When: August 20, 2023, 3:00pm
Where: Dalhousie Arts Centre
Please RSVP to Carolyn.Doyle@dal.ca on or before August 14, 2023.
International Symposium on Pediatric Pain
Save the date for the International Symposium on Pediatric Pain scheduled for October 1-4, 2023, at the Halifax Convention Centre.
Learn more here.
MS Teams Phone Migration Project Implementation
In alignment with Dalhousie University’s first Digital Strategy plan and recognizing the importance of our digital workplace, ITS has begun the migration of single-line phone service to Teams Phone (VoIP) to provide a more modern telephone experience with high-quality voice calls. This will provide you with the ability to make and receive phone calls using your existing 494-XXXX telephone number through your MS Teams application on your computer or mobile device.
The phone migration process for the first Faculty of Medicine units is scheduled for the first week of June. Approximately two weeks prior to your phone migration, you will receive an email from MedIT advising you of the changeover date, and you will also receive an email from Microsoft advising you that audio conferencing has been added to your Teams account with important instructions and information.
Please visit Teams Phone (SharePoint.com) for more information about the project and an overview of Teams Phone functions and features.
If you have any questions or need technical assistance, please contact medit@dal.ca.