The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences brings together Canada’s top-ranked health and biomedical scientists and scholars who make a positive impact on the urgent health concerns of Canadians. Election to Fellowship in the Academy is considered one of the highest honours for individuals in the Canadian health sciences community.

“The innovative research programs of these outstanding clinician-scientists have made indelible impacts on the lives of so many around the world,” says Dr. Digvir Jayas, vice-president (research and international) and Distinguished Professor at UM. “We congratulate them on this most deserved recognition for their decades of research into Canada’s most complex health challenges.”

Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-provost (health sciences) and dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, added, “We are honoured to congratulate our four faculty members on election to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Their extensive and impactful research into global public health, Indigenous health, clinical research and infectious diseases has not only improved health locally, nationally and globally, but rightfully earned them this prestigious distinction.”   

Dr. James Blanchard

Dr. James Blanchard

Professor, Community Health Sciences, and Executive Director, Institute for Global Public Health, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Dr. James Blanchard is an epidemiologist and public health specialist focusing on global health. His research focuses on how the characteristics of individuals, communities and large populations contribute to the local and global distribution of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Over the past 25 years, he has also provided leadership globally to applying research to improve the design and implementation of large public health programs related to sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS and maternal, neonatal and child health focused in south Asia and Africa.

Dr. Blanchard has also contributed to the development of scientific knowledge about what creates epidemics of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and in the translation of that knowledge into effective programs and policies to improve health. Globally, he has advanced knowledge about the factors that generate HIV epidemics and translated that knowledge into high impact programs to control HIV in south Asia and Africa. In Canada, he has been a leader in developing methods to study the emerging epidemics of diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.

He holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in epidemiology and global public health.

Dr. Josée G. Lavoie

Dr. Josée G. Lavoie

Professor, Community Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, and Director of Ongomiizwin -Research, Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Dr. Josée G. Lavoie, a Fulbright scholar, is an internationally-renowned researcher who, for the past 30 years, has been working in partnership with Indigenous communities and organizations to improve Indigenous peoples’ access to responsive health services.

Dr. Lavoie’s program of research is uniquely positioned in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and other Indigenous groups across Canada, in Alaska, Norway, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand and circumpolar countries.

Her research focuses on improved access to primary health care for underserved and marginalized populations, in rural, remote and inner-city environments; and on shifting health policy.

Dr. Lavoie’s program of research demonstrates leadership in engaged scholarship. She is particularly interested in how western and Indigenous knowledge systems interface in the provision of health services in Indigenous communities. She maintains on-going partnerships with the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba and with the Manitoba Inuit Association. She is actively engaged in collaborations in Australia and New Zealand, and in circumpolar health research.

Dr. Bram Ramjiawan

Dr. Bram Ramjiawan

Director of Clinical Research, Innovation and Regulatory Affairs and Director of Research, Asper Clinical Research Institute, St. Boniface Hospital and Research Centre

Dr. Bram Ramjiawan is responsible for the oversight of clinical research and to oversee and ensure that all clinical, regulatory and business issues are handled as required by national and international agencies. Dr. Ramjiawan is an International expert on clinical trials. He is resident internal reviewer for the European Union, various United States departments (FDA, NIH) and Canada.

Prior to joining the hospital, Dr. Ramjiawan worked with the Government of Canada (National Research Council) as an industrial technology advisor who specialized in life sciences and biomedical technologies. Dr. Ramjiawan is an adjunct professor of pharmacology and therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba.

He serves on many national and international organizations. At the national level Dr. Ramjiawan is on the steering committee of the Canadian Standards Association on Medical Technology and Health Care. At the international level, he is a reviewer for the United States National Institutes of Health and for the European Union Commission on Health Science and Ethics.

Dr. George Zhanel

Dr. George Zhanel

Professor and Associate Head, Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Dr. George Zhanel is research director of the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance (CARA) and the founding and chief editor of the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance (CARA) website (www.can-r.com).

Dr. Zhanel has published over 1,100 papers, chapters and abstracts in the area of treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. He has presented over 1,100 lectures as an invited speaker at international, national, and local meetings speaking on the topics of antimicrobial resistant infections as well as treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

Dr. Zhanel has been involved in treatment guideline development for a variety of infectious diseases and is also interested in antimicrobial usage/resistance in humans, animals and food (one health) and the impact of antimicrobial exposure on human and animal microbiomes.

In 2020, he received the Canadian Association for Medical Education merit award, and in 2021, he was 1 of 190 Canadian scientists recognized as a “highly cited researcher”, an honour received by 1 out of 1000 of the world’s scientists.

Drs. Heather Adam, Philippe Lagacé-Wiens, Lindsay Nicolle, Frank Schweizer, Sheryl Zelenitsky and George Zhanel join 190 other Canadian scientists on the list of more than 6,600 researchers from around the globe. Of the world’s scientists, Highly Cited Researchers are one in 1,000.

The names of the researchers on the list are drawn from the publications that rank in the one per cent by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science, a global citation database. The list is created by Clarivate, a company that specializes in analytics and owns the Web of Science.  

“Drs. Schweizer, Adam, Lagacé-Wiens, Nicolle, Zelenitsky and Zhanel, leaders in the field of anti-microbial resistance, are seeking solutions that will advance patient care in the battle against infectious disease,” said Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-dean (research), Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, and a distinguished professor of internal medicine at the Max Rady College of Medicine.

Dr. Heather Adam

Adam, an assistant professor of medical microbiology/infectious diseases at the Max Rady College of Medicine, focuses her research on documenting the common bacteria causing infections in primarily hospitalized patients, assessing the frequency these bacteria are resistant to commonly prescribed antimicrobial treatments and evaluating how the bacteria become resistant. The Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance (CARA) team, of which she is a member, also studies newly developed antimicrobials to find out which bacteria they will be most helpful in treating. 

“The recognition of being on the highly cited researchers list is a direct reflection of the remarkable opportunity I have had to work with our incredible research team, the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance, for the past 20 years,” Adam said. “I believe the frequent citations of our work highlight the importance, and the increasing focus on antimicrobial resistance at both the national and international levels.”

Dr. Philippe Legace-Wiens

Lagacé-Wiens, an assistant professor of medical microbiology/infectious diseases at the Max Rady College of Medicine, works to better understand the resistance to antibiotics in bacteria and evaluate new antibiotics against resistant bacteria to confirm that they might work to treat patients with similar infections in the future. He also conducts research to evaluate new diagnostic tools in the laboratory to help diagnose infectious disease and antibiotic resistance.

“I’m both surprised and elated to be on the list,” Lagacé-Wiens said. “Being recognized for the work one does is a sure way to breathe new energy into the sometimes challenging aspects of research.”

Dr. Lindsay Nicolle

Nicolle, a professor emeritus of internal medicine at the Max Rady College of Medicine, is no longer active in research, but throughout her career, a major topic she addressed was clinical studies relevant to urinary tract infection. One question studied was the management of asymptomatic bacteriuria, which has become a topic of major interest in the last decade as antimicrobial stewardship initiatives have become essential in the management of infectious diseases.

“My research, and other activities relevant to it, such as guideline development, remains relevant and it is gratifying to know that work which was performed even decades ago is still contributing,” Nicolle said.  

Dr. Frank Schweizer

Schweizer, a professor of medical microbiology/infectious diseases at the Max Rady College of Medicine, and a professor of chemistry at the Faculty of Science, focuses his research on therapeutic approaches to overcome bacterial resistance. He studies the development of helper molecules, which, when combined with antibiotics, rescue antibiotics from resistance.

“It’s a great feeling that our research can inspire other investigators,” Schweizer said. “It is great to see that some of our papers generate wide interest all over the world. It provides motivation and confirms that we are on the right track and have an impact on the research community.”

Dr. Sheryl Zelenitsky

Zelenitsky, a professor at the College of Pharmacy, studies how best to use antibiotics while limiting the risk of harmful effects and antibiotic resistance. She focuses on vulnerable patients, such as people who are undergoing surgery, on dialysis or critically ill.

“I’m pleased that our work is being read,” Zelenitsky said. “I have always been interested in research that can improve patient care. My publications often stem from questions I have as to why something is or isn’t being done with the goal of advancing clinical practice.” 

Dr. George Zhanel

Zhanel is a professor of medical microbiology/infectious diseases at the Max Rady College of Medicine. As director of CARA, he works with researchers and clinicians from across the country to study which patients get infected with resistant infections, how organisms develop resistance and how best to treat these patients with existing and new antibiotics.

“Our group has worked incredibly hard to produce high-quality, practice changing research with local, national and international relevance,” Zhanel said. “This recognition is a testament to the dedication and hard work of all of our research trainees, staff and collaborators.”