Way to go team! – Congratulations to staff on their awards and achievements

Congratulations to the following SickKids staff members who have been recognized by the health-care and science communities for their outstanding achievements and groundbreaking work.

Jennifer Stinson awarded James M. Flaherty Visiting Professorship; RNAO's Leadership Award in Nursing Research

Dr. Jennifer Stinson, Nurse Clinician-Scientist at SickKids, has been awarded the James M. Flaherty Visiting Professorship by the Ireland Canada University Foundation. The professorship is a prestigious grant that will support Stinson’s visit and collaborative research project at the Centre for Pain Research at the National University of Ireland Galway. It commemorates James M. Flaherty; Canada’s former Minister of Finance and is allocated to only two Canadian and two Irish professors each year across any discipline.

Stinson is also the recipient of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s (RNAO) Leadership Award in Nursing Research. This award is presented to an RN whose work supports the implementation of innovative and progressive nursing practice that leads to positive patient and nurse outcomes. In particular, Stinson was recognized for her work in the Chronic Pain Program at SickKids, where she develops innovative clinical tools to help patients better manage chronic pain.

Dr. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta receives Geneva Forum for Health Award for contributions to global maternal and child health

Dr. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, Co-Director of SickKids Centre for Global Child Health, has been awarded the Geneva Forum for Health Award in honour of the critical role he has played in improving maternal and child health globally. The Geneva Forum for Health Award honours and recognizes advances and contributions in health systems that have improved or have the potential to fundamentally improve the health of people around the world.

As a leading voice for integrated maternal, newborn and child health, Bhutta is world renowned for his work in newborn and child survival, maternal and child undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. He leads large research groups based in Toronto, Karachi and Nairobi with a special interest in research synthesis, scaling up evidence-based interventions in community settings and implementating research in health systems research. In particular, his work with community health workers and outreach services has influenced integrated maternal and newborn outreach programs for marginalized populations all over the world.

Adam Rapoport wins Lawrence Librach Award for excellence and leadership in palliative care

SickKids paediatric palliative care physician Dr. Adam Rapoport is the 2016 recipient of the Dr. S. Lawrence Librach Award for Palliative Medicine in the Community from Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO). The award is bestowed annually to a physician who demonstrates excellence and leadership in palliative care and advances palliative care in their communities through mentorship of family physicians. The award honours Dr. Larry Librach, who became an early presence in the field of palliative care in 1978 and was instrumental in shaping the Canadian approach to palliative care and palliative medicine.  

Jianhua Zhao receives Governor General Gold Medal for academic excellence

Congratulations to Dr. Jianhua Zhao, former PhD student under Dr. John Rubinstein in the Molecular Structure and Function Program, SickKids, and the Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, on receiving a Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal for academic excellence at the graduate level. Zhao, who is now a CIHR Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, received the award for his landmark thesis titled, Study of the yeast vacuolar-type ATPase by electron cryomicroscopy.

Sharon Dell honoured by American Thoracic Society Assembly on Pediatrics for clinical and teaching excellence

Dr. Sharon Dell, Staff and Clinical Investigator, Respiratory Medicine, and Senior Associate Scientist, Child Health Evaluative Sciences, has been selected by the American Thoracic Society Assembly on Pediatrics (PEDS) Awards Selection Committee to receive the Clinical Educator Award. This prestigious international award is in recognition of her outstanding and innovative clinical and teaching abilities.

Brooke Allemang receives Allied Health Award of Excellence

Congratulations to Brooke Allemang, Interprofessional Education Specialist, on receiving the Allied Health Award of Excellence from the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario (SCAGO). Allemang was recognized for her dedication to supporting adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease in preparing for and throughout the transition from paediatric to adult health-care. She received the award at the SCAGO’s Hope Gala & Awards on June 11.

… and congratulations to SickKids:

SickKids recognized by Greening Health Care for reducing energy consumption

SickKids was recognized for its energy conservation initiatives by Greening Health Care at its 2016 Greening Health Care Forum on June 10. The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning received the 5% Club Award for reducing energy use by more than five per cent since 2014. The PGCRL reduced energy consumption by nine per cent as a result of re-using energy that otherwise would have been lost into the atmosphere as greenhouse gas.

Greening Health Care, a program of The Living City, managed by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, is the largest program of its kind in North America, helping hospitals work together to lower their energy costs, raise their environmental performance and contribute to the health and well-being of their communities.