Check-Up
Women’s health advocate named to distinguished list
Dr. Caitlin Dunne, MD’08, was named as one of Canada’s 2019 Top 40 Under 40, recognized for her passion in her work and advocacy for women’s health. She was inspired to pursue this field of medicine because of a spark that started when she attended medical school at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry. “I found my passion very early in medical school when I realized I wanted to work with and advocate for women,” she said. Dr. Dunne, the Co-Director of the Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine, one of the largest fertility clinics in Canada, says helping her patients to achieve that dream through a relatively new and ever-changing field of medicine is the most rewarding part of her job.
A true gentleman and scholar
Just a few weeks shy of his 100th birthday, former Dean, Dr. Douglas Bocking, MD’43, passed away. A true gentleman and a renowned scholar, Dr. Bocking continued to be engaged with the School and University by attending events, participating in podcasts and sharing his insight on leadership. “He had an amazing intellect, compassion and a curiosity that was evident to all who knew him,” said Dr. John Yoo, Dean, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry. “Much of the foundation upon which our faculty was built can be credited to his vision for the profession and medical education.”
Community leaders, innovators and change makers
Eleven alumni who have left an indelible mark on the world and continue to do so have been named the 2020 Alumni of Distinction Award recipients. Congratulations to John Ciriello, PhD’79; Dr. Benjamin Davis, DDS’92; Drs. Rob Elliott, DDS’89, MClD’93, and Kent Floreani, DDS’87, MClD’92; Dr. Jennifer Gunter, Resident Alumna; Dr. Cindy Hutnik, Resident Alumna; Dr. Andreas Laupacis, Resident Alumnus; Dr. Abdel-Rahman Lawendy, MD’03, PhD’14; Dr. Azadeh Reyhani, DDS’12; Dr. Supriya Singh, MD’14; and Brad Urquhart, BSc’01, PhD’06. We look forward to celebrating this recognition at the 2021 Homecoming event.
A focus on quality, innovation and safety
The Department of Medicine recently established the Centre for Quality, Innovation and Safety with a goal of advancing patient care through research in quality improvement and patient safety. The Centre is a collaborative research community designed to empower and support the School’s health care faculty as they continually improve the standards and quality of the patient-focused care they provide. Dr. James Calvin, Chair/Chief, says that the creation of the Centre is a culmination of goals in the Department’s Strategic Plan of 2015. “Our vision is to set the standard in the quality of care provided to patients and community through research and education, in conjunction with the University, our partner hospitals and other stakeholders, and this Centre will in part enable our achievement of this vision,” he said.
Office of military academic medicine opens
Building upon a long-standing relationship with the Canadian Armed Forces, the School has established the Office of Military Academic Medicine. The Office brings together current education, research and partnership activities, positioning the School to work more strategically with ongoing programs and to identify new opportunities for collaboration and expansion of current activities. Dr. Vivian McAlister is the Director of the Office and will advise the Dean on matters of military academic medicine and manage the relationship with the Canadian Forces.
Tops in London
Kara Ruicci, BMSc’15, and current MD/PhD trainee, was recognized among the city’s outstanding young professionals and named to Business London’s 2019 20 in Their 20s list. Noted for making a name for themselves; the list recognizes community members excelling in a variety of industries and fields. Meanwhile, faculty members Drs. Heather MacKenzie, resident alumna, and Javeed Sukhera were named to London’s Top 20 Under 40 for 2019, as identified by London Inc. Magazine. The honour is given to young leaders who are making a difference in the community.
A national honour
Dr. Jona Szakacs, DDS’20, was awarded the inaugural dentalcorp Academic Excellence Award. The new national scholarship program recognizes exemplary scholastic achievement, extracurricular involvement and the embodiment of the values of innovation, collaboration and excellence. Only one scholarship is awarded each year to a graduating dental student in Canada and recipients receive full tuition reimbursement for their dental education, as well as a two-year contract with dentalcorp following graduation. “During the past four years, I have worked hard to do well in my courses and be active in the Schulich Dentistry community. It’s truly an honour to receive this recognition on a national level,” said Dr. Szakacs.
Research growth recognized
Nature Index, a scientific journal, ranked Western University as Canada’s fastest growing institution for scientific research and one of the top eight globally. The journal commended the University for the number of private and public partnerships and for its investment in research infrastructure including biomedical imaging and high-performance computing facilities.
Fifth annual IPE Day draws largest ever attendance
More than 800 health care students from across Southwestern Ontario came to Western for the fifth annual Interprofessional Education (IPE) Day, which focused on refugee and newcomer health. The day aimed to enrich students’ understanding about the value of collaboration and partnership in care delivery and brought together learners from programs in medicine, dentistry, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, optometry, social work and nutrition. “IPE Day allows us to define our roles within the circle of care, and also helped us tackle common misconceptions about the scope of practice in our respective fields,” said Mehran Mansouri, Medicine Class of 2023. “It was great to see a multitude of students from different health care fields working together to provide better care for our future patients.”
