The Winnipeg Foundation’s Martha Donovan Leadership Fund is a $250,000 scholarship fund created to provide leadership development opportunities for women in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences by supporting leadership training. This year’s inaugural recipients come from the Max Rady College of Medicine, the College of Nursing and the College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Sara Israels

Dr. Sara Israels, vice-dean, academic affairs, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, noted there were 34 applications from highly accomplished women at all stages of career development.

“I was impressed by the commitment of the applicants to enhancing their own knowledge and expertise, and to leadership goals that will benefit both the university and the community,” said Israels. “This year’s awardees exemplify the leadership potential among the women in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, and this bodes well for closing the leadership gender gap that presently exists in many academic and health-care institutions.”

Awardee Emily Hyde, a Master’s student in the College of Nursing, will participate in two programs from the Asper School of Business Executive Education Program.

“By using a feminist lens in the leadership training, I will explore how gender intersects with negotiation and consensus building and conflict management. The courses will help me learn practical strategies which will ultimately lead to improved productivity, job satisfaction and greater overall success for me, members of an inter-professional health care team, and most importantly, the patients.”

Dr. Amani Hamad, who recently completed her PhD degree at the College of Pharmacy and is starting postdoctoral training at the George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation, will attend an executive leadership program at McGill University. She says the funding will help solidify her skills and prepare her to be a leader in the highly competitive field of academia.

“I hope to use the skills I learn in the program to lead a multidisciplinary team of researchers and students who will contribute to the success of our research program and achieve their academic and research goals.”

Faculty member Dr. Michelle Driedger, a professor and director of the graduate program in the Max Rady College of Medicine’s department of community health sciences, will attend leadership training workshops delivered by the nationally recognized WinSETT Centre (the Canadian Centre for Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology).

“The partnership between the Winnipeg Foundation’s Martha Donovan Fund and the Rady Faculty to support access to leadership training for women speaks to the challenges many women face in getting appropriate training and mentorship and to feel confident in taking up leadership opportunities when they arise. It just wouldn’t be possible for me to do this program without the support of the Martha Donovan Award,” she said.

The scholarships, supported by The Martha Donovan Fund held at The Winnipeg Foundation, are open to women within the Rady Faculty who are full-time academic faculty members or students/post-doctoral trainees. For the next five years, $50,000 in awards will be made available on an annual basis.

Recipients:

Faculty

• Trina Arnold, College of Nursing
• Versha Banerji, Department of Internal Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine
• Michelle Driedger, Department of Community Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine

Students/Trainees

• Alysa Almojeula, Department of Surgery, Max Rady College of Medicine
• Kaitlin Edwards, Department of Surgery, Max Rady College of Medicine
• Amani Hamad, College of Pharmacy
• Emily Hyde, College of Nursing
• Donica Janzen, College of Pharmacy
• Sarah Lesperance, Department of Community Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine
• Kaye Amira Quizon, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine
• Janine Reid, Department of Internal Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine
• Krystal Thorington, Department of Psychiatry, Max Rady College of Medicine

This support, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, will help Canadian researchers study the full spectrum of health issues affecting the lives of Canadians.

While visiting the university, Eyolfson highlighted the $9.7 million in funding that will go to researchers in Manitoba.

Eyolfson highlighted the work of Dr. Josée Lavoie, a University of Manitoba researcher who works on kidney health care in rural and remote Manitoba First Nation communities. Manitoba First Nations have the highest documented prevalence and the second highest incidence of end-stage kidney disease in Canada. Canadians living in rural/remote locations and requiring care experience significant barriers. Dr. Lavoie will receive $1.5 million to support her research.

“These investigators are all leading experts in their fields. This recognition through the highly competitive CIHR project grants program is testament to the high impact of their research and the investigations these funds will support,” said Dr. Digvir Jayas, Vice-President (Research and International), University of Manitoba.

Other announcements are happening across the country to highlight the diversity and strength of Canada’s health research community. The total amount of funding announced by Minister Petitpas Taylor is $372 million.

U of M projects funded:

Lavoie, Josée G., Community Health Sciences, $1,575,900
Kidney health care in remote Manitoba First Nation communities

Karimi-Abdolrezaee, Soheila, Physiology & Pathophysiology, $1,059,525
Therapies for spinal cord injuries

Driedger, S. Michelle, Community Health Sciences, $864,450
Fostering trust through joint clinical decision making

McKenna, Sean A., Chemistry, $784,125
Investigating the regulatory role of RNA-G4 helicases

Fowke, Keith R., Medical Microbiology, $772,650
Reducing HIV target cells in the female genital tract

Dhingra, Sanjiv, Physiology & Pathophysiology, $749,700
Preserving stem cells in the heart

Hatala, Andrew R., Community Health Sciences, $745,875
Participatory health with Indigenous youth in Canadian cities

Azad, Meghan, Pediatrics & Child Health, $742,050
Breast milk and allergic diseases

Mookherjee, Neeloffer, Internal Medicine/Immunology, $661,725
Regulatory mechanisms in the control of asthma

Murooka, Thomas T., Immunology, $573,750
Understanding how viruses are transported from one cell to another

Sibley, Kathryn M., Community Health Sciences, $443,700
Ensuring health research is incorporated into everyday practice

Slater, Joyce, Food & Human Nutritional Sciences, $393,976
Building Evidence to Inform Policies and Programs for Food and Nutrition Security in Manitoba Youth

Riediger, Natalie D. Community Health Sciences, $359,551
A proposal for introducing a pop beverage tax to combat diabetes

Total amount: $9,726,977