All nine award recipients for 2023 have connections to the Max Rady College of Medicine at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. Five recipients are UM alumni, one is a current resident and seven hold positions with the college, including Physician of the Year Dr. Ryan Zarychanski.

“As a graduate of the Max Rady College of Medicine myself, I’m proud that all nine of the extraordinary physicians winning Doctors Manitoba Awards this year have a connection to the University of Manitoba,” said Dr. Candace Bradshaw, president of Doctors Manitoba.

“This speaks to the value of our university in the medical community and how physicians maintain a connection throughout their careers, whether they graduated from UM or moved here from out of province and forged that connection mid-career.”  

The winners were nominated by their physician peers and selected following an evaluation by a Doctors Manitoba committee. A gala awards celebration will be held this spring.

“Congratulations to the outstanding physicians who received Doctors Manitoba Awards this year,” said Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-provost (health sciences), dean, Max Rady College of Medicine, and dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

“I’m thrilled to see that all nine recipients are associated with the Max Rady College of Medicine. This demonstrates the top-notch leaders our medical school develops, and the terrific physicians who work with the college as researchers, clinicians and instructors.”

PHYSICIAN of the YEAR

Dr. Ryan Zarychanski (Photo courtesy of Doctors Manitoba)

Dr. Ryan Zarychanski [B.Sc./95, B.Sc. (Med.)/00], associate professor of internal medicine at the Max Rady College of Medicine, led groundbreaking work during the pandemic to rapidly assess the effectiveness of potential treatments for COVID-19. This work was trailblazing at a global level, both in the treatments identified and the process developed to identify them. By establishing a global network of scientists, Zarychanski raised significant funding, led life-saving clinical studies spanning 104 countries, and developed a new method of conducting and analyzing randomized clinical trials to speed knowledge generation. Ultimately, these trials identified effective treatment options for patients with serious COVID-19 infections.

HUMANITARIAN of the YEAR

Dr. Tamara McColl (Photo courtesy of Doctors Manitoba)

Tamara McColl [B.Sc./07, B.Sc. (Med.)/11, MD/11], director of education scholarship and faculty development in the department of emergency medicine at the Max Rady College of Medicine, is an emergency medicine physician who has dedicated the last year to supporting the Ukrainian community in Manitoba and Ukraine. Her community service and humanitarian work have included leading local efforts to mobilize support through fundraising and rallies while also joining multiple medical relief missions to Ukraine through the Canadian Medical Assistant Teams and Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

Dr. Maggie Morris (Photo courtesy of Doctors Manitoba)

Dr. Maggie Morris [M.Ed/10), professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the Max Rady College of Medicine, has served Manitoba for nearly 40 years as a physician, educator and leader in women’s health. As a clinician, she has dedicated much of her practice to vulnerable patients. She has played a pivotal role in the education of thousands of physicians and physician assistants, using innovative and engaging techniques. As chair of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences and provincial lead of women’s health, she oversaw major improvements in care and the design of the new HSC Winnipeg Women’s Hospital.

RESIDENT of the YEAR

Dr. Alwyn Gomez (Photo courtesy of Doctors Manitoba)

Dr. Alwyn Gomez, a medical resident and PhD student in the department of human anatomy and cell science at the Max Rady College of Medicine, is an exceptionally talented resident physician specializing in neurosurgery. He has a passion for research and his PhD work is focused on traumatic brain injury. He is also strongly dedicated to supporting medical education, helping to develop new programming in dissection and showcasing Manitoba’s postgraduate medical education program to prospective learners.

MEDALS of EXCELLENCE

Dr. Biniam Kidane (Photo courtesy of Doctors Manitoba)

Dr. Biniam Kidane, assistant professor of surgery at the Max Rady College of Medicine, is a thoracic and foregut surgeon and clinician-scientist. He is the medical director of the Wilf Taillieu Thoracic Surgery Endoscopy Unit. He is recognized for his constant dedication to his patients, along with his pioneering work to maintain care during the many disruptions to surgical and hospital services through the pandemic, including for lung and esophageal cancer patients. Guided by Kidane, Manitoba has become a leader in minimally invasive thoracic surgery and interventional endoscopy, which has resulted in shorter recovery times and better outcomes for patients.

Dr. Courtney Leary (Photo courtesy of Doctors Manitoba)

Courtney Leary [B.Sc./04, MD/08], who completed her MD degree and family medicine residency at UM, is the first physician to be raised in and now serve the people of Norway House Cree Nation. She is now the chief of staff for Norway House Hospital and Clinic, and her leadership was pivotal to the development of the new Health Centre of Excellence. Her deep roots and commitment to her community were vital during the pandemic, when she found innovative ways to ensure health care was available, delayed the arrival of COVID-19 in the community, and built relationships that were pivotal to achieving a high level of vaccine uptake.

Dr. Katherine Kearns and Dr. Christina Raimondi (Photo courtesy of Doctors Manitoba.

Dr. Katherine Kearns, who completed her medicine residency at UM and is an assistant professor of family medicine, and Christina Raimondi [B.Sc./00, MD/04], a lecturer at the Max Rady College of Medicine, together established the Winnipeg Breastfeeding Centre in 2017, responding to the overwhelming challenges many patients had in accessing help with lactation or infant feeding. Using the latest scientific evidence on breastfeeding, human milk feeding and infant feeding practices, the clinic and its experts are now trusted resources for patients and physicians. Kearns and Raimondi achieved all of this while maintaining their regular clinical practices.

Dr. Michael Loudon (Photo courtesy of Doctors Manitoba)

Dr. Michael Loudon, a clinical teacher at the Max Rady College of Medicine, is a champion for physician health. While maintaining his rural family medicine practice, he spent 15 years leading physician peer support programming and helping to destigmatize substance use disorders. His work helped physicians regain their health and continue to practise. He has also been a pivotal member of several physician health initiatives, including efforts to tackle the systemic and organizational causes of physician burnout and distress.

With files from Doctors Manitoba

The Future 40 Awards recognize the achievements of 40 Manitobans age 40 and younger who have made outstanding professional or service contributions to the community and who are making a difference in the lives of Manitobans.

Among the first batch of ten announced are:

Natalie Rodriguez, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, program director at Azad Lab, CHRIM, within the department of pediatrics and child health.

Dr. Horace Luong, instructor, chemistry, Faculty of Science

Dr. Ashley Stewart-Tufescu, post-doctoral fellow in community health sciences and psychiatry, working under supervision of Dr. Tracie Afifi, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

Dr. Ayesha Saleem, assistant professor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management

Dr. Biniam Kidane, assistant professor, surgery, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

Dr. Jennifer Hensel, assistant professor, psychiatry, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

View the full list here.

The event, organized by the Black Medical Students Association (BMSA), a new student group at the Max Rady College of Medicine, attracted more than 100 youth. The group aims to decrease barriers to entering a career in health care for the black population, particularly for black youth, and increase the number of black students admitted to the faculty.

Helen Teklemariam, Amir Ali, Yohanna Asghedom and Achieng Tago, fourth-year medical students and four of BMSA’s founders, formed the student group because while the black population in Manitoba has increased significantly in the past few decades, there are still few black medical residents or faculty members.

L to R: Helen Teklemariam, Yohanna Asghedom, Dr. Biniam Kidane, Mr. Markus Chambers, Deputy Mayor of the City of Winnipeg, Amir Ali and Achieng Tago

“We wanted to get the ball rolling on increasing representation at our school,” said Teklemariam, “We thought the best way to do that was by holding a symposium for the youth so we could foster their interest in medicine, provide them with resources and start the conversation about what they need to do to get into medicine.”

Ali noted that it is important to increase representation, especially in diverse cities like Winnipeg, because diversity in staffing has been shown to have a positive impact on the quality of health care.

“There have been a lot of studies showing that a more representative health care team will lead to better outcomes whether it’s heart disease, diabetes, or maternal mortality,” he said.

The organizers hope the event will help the students in attendance to start thinking about their future career path early on in their education and plan accordingly, since the admissions process can be challenging and competitive. They also want to build a network of students interested in health care and follow them on their educational path to determine if events like the symposium end up leading to an increase in black students admitted into medicine.

At the symposium, students listened to keynote speakers Dr. Biniam Kidane, a thoracic surgeon and assistant professor, Department of Surgery, Max Rady College of Medicine; Mr. Markus Chambers, Deputy Mayor of the City of Winnipeg; Dr. Marcia Anderson, Executive Director, Indigenous Academic Affairs, Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences; and Uzoma Asagwara, an addictions specialist, psychiatric nurse and newly elected MLA for the Union Station riding.

“I’m interested in pursuing a career in medicine. I wanted to get some guidance from people who had similar experiences to me as black students and see if I could learn something from their experiences.” – Kemunto Matini, fourth-year health sciences student, University of Manitoba

The organizers developed a series of workshops for the attendees aiming to fit a variety of different interests and needs. Students received tips on preparing for the MCAT, prepping for interviews, building their resumes, volunteer opportunities and advice for overcoming obstacles. Another session provided students with information on other career paths in health care including dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy and pharmacy. Students also took tours of the Bannatyne Campus and had professional headshots taken.

At a panel discussion with medical students Abseret Hailu and Achieng Tago, and neurosurgery resident Dr. Andrew Ajisebutu, students asked questions about navigating challenges such as language and financial barriers, work-life balance, the admissions interview process and mental health.

Hailu is a third-year medical student, and said she wanted to participate on the panel to give young students a chance to pick their brains and gain valuable advice on how to pursue a career in medicine.

“The biggest takeaway I want the students to have is that nothing is impossible. I felt like I had a lot of barriers – being an immigrant, being a woman, being that English was my third language, being of low socio-economic status,” she said, “I was able to push through. I don’t want anybody to be deterred from doing what they want because of the barriers they have. I want this to be an inspiration for them, if somebody else can do that, I can do it as well.”

Havtom Meresi, a fourth-year biochemistry major at the University of Winnipeg who hopes to get into dentistry, attended the symposium to learn more about the Rady Faculty and find potential mentors. After hearing the keynote lectures, what stayed with him was the feeling of possibility.

“It’s good to know that you can be unstoppable and there’s a lot of opportunity if you go out there and get the right guidance. You’re capable of anything.” – Selam Haile (L), second-year science student, University of Manitoba, with Havtom Meresi (R)

“Basically, don’t close your mind. A lot of people aim lower than they think they can. Just know that you’re capable of achieving what you set your mind to. Another thing that resonated with me is that you need to work hard, there’s no shortcut,” said Meresi.

Anderson and Asagwara delivered the final keynote lecture of the day titled, “We Out Here,” which addressed racial bias and the importance of representation in the health-care system.

Asagwara wrapped up their address by emphasizing to the students that being themselves is an asset and a strength.

“Those are the greatest gifts you bring to the table, to any table,” said Asagwara, “I’m still often the only one at the table who looks like me, who has my experiences, and that’s what makes me invaluable. You’ve got to be able to recognize that, you can’t minimize that for anybody and you can’t allow anyone to minimize that for you.”