Drs. Meghan Azad, Sara Israels and Soheila Karimi at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences are receiving the honour in three categories, respectively: Emerging Leaders, Professionals, and Science and Technology.

“In a difficult year, we’ve been inspired by Canada’s highest achieving women who unite those around them and help us all rise above our challenges,” said Sherri Stevens, owner and CEO of WXN. “These powerful women continue to lead the way, which is why it’s important to celebrate their achievements.”

The trio join 17 UM recipients named Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 since the awards began.

“These women are incredible leaders who are achieving inspiring accomplishments,” said Digvir Jayas, vice-president (research and international) and UM Distinguished Professor. “Their diligent, passion-fueled activities are innovative and impactful, and they have each transformed research, medical education and care in our province and around the globe.”

Launched in 2003, WXN is Canada’s national organization that propels and celebrates the advancement of women at all levels, in all sectors and of all ages. The winners range from rising stars to top of their fields to advocates to champions for others to community leaders to teachers and students. They are breaking ground for future generations. WXN is hosting Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Awards Program, which includes a virtual two-day Leadership Summit and Gala on December 2 and 3.

“It’s gratifying that these outstanding women, true role models, are being formally recognized for their many achievements as leaders, researchers, and in academic medicine, ” said Dr. Brian Postl, dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. “Their contributions demonstrate our commitment as a faculty to empower and advance women and members of under-represented groups and I sincerely congratulate all three faculty members on this prestigious award.”

The honourees

Meghan Azad (pediatrics and child health, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba), awarded in the Emerging Leaders category, which celebrates the professional achievements of women aged 30 to 45 who are at the mid-level stage of their careers. These women are seen as high-potential contributors within their organizations, are passionate about learning and innovating, and have accomplished a great deal in their chosen field.

Sara Israels (pediatrics and child health, cell biology, Research Institute of Oncology and Hematology, Health Sciences Centre), vice-dean (academic affairs), awarded in the Professionals category, which recognizes women who are professionals in practice and are leaders within their organizations.

Soheila Karimi (physiology and pathophysiology, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba), awarded in the Science and Technology category, this award celebrates female leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) roles who are challenging the status quo for knowledge and female empowerment.

About 80 people attended the noon-hour session at the Frederic Gaspard Theatre on the Bannatyne campus. Representatives of the College of Nursing, located on the Fort Garry campus, attended via webcast.

Dr. Brian Postl, dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and vice-provost (health sciences), began by outlining the decentralized budget model that the university will implement on April 1. Moving to current priorities, Postl pointed to interprofessional collaboration across the faculty’s five colleges (Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Rehabilitation Sciences) as a strong focus.

“We are working hard to establish a new (faculty) chair to promote interprofessional education and innovation,” he said.

Postl said the Rady Faculty’s planned Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing is nearing approval by the U of M Senate and, it is hoped, will be launched in the coming months. He went on to summarize the five-year strategic framework for the Rady Faculty, encouraging all stakeholders to read the plan in draft form and send feedback to fhscomm@umanitoba.ca.

Dr. Sara Israels, vice-dean, academic affairs, reported on the Rady Faculty’s new Office of Educational and Faculty Development and on the transition to a faculty-wide process for promotion and tenure. She also noted the establishment of an awards committee that spans the five colleges. “We need to nominate more people in our faculty for external awards,” she said.

Dr. Jeff Sisler, vice-dean, continuing competency and assessment, spoke about the recent creation of a new web platform which features online registration, learning and event management for high-quality continuing professional development programs. Sisler noted that a faculty-wide working group on internationally educated health professionals is exploring “the work we need to do around helping new Canadians enter practice in their chosen professions.”

Dr. Christine Ateah, vice-dean, education, reported on topics including the new interprofessional collaborative care (IPCC) curriculum for all Rady Faculty students. First-year students are now assigned to small faculty-wide cohorts that complete certain assignments as a team. In response to a question about interprofessional clinical practice opportunities, Ateah said the scheduling of the five colleges poses a challenge, but there is strong potential for student-led learning.

Dr. Catherine Cook, vice-dean, Indigenous health, gave an update on the Rady Faculty’s draft Truth and Reconciliation Commission Action Plan. Among the key themes of the nearly finalized plan are honouring traditional knowledge systems and ensuring support, mentorship and retention of Indigenous students. Of the latter, Cook said, “We do have a faculty-wide working group . . . and it’s our hope to address any gaps and build on strengths.”

Dr. Kevin Coombs, assistant dean, research, spoke on behalf of Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-dean, research. From a funding perspective, Coombs said, there is a growing emphasis on collaborative health research conducted by teams and clusters. Coombs presented graphs showing positive results, such as the fact that the Rady Faculty’s research funding increased by 16 per cent in the past year. “Keep up the good work,” he said.

View the full PowerPoint presentation for the Town Hall.

Watch the one-hour webcast of the Town Hall.

Dr. Israels [MD/49; MSc/50; DSc(Honoris Causa)/99] was a renowned and beloved physician, researcher and mentor throughout his career at the University of Manitoba (read more about him here). The $2-million Professorship in his honour was made possible by generous donations from the pharmaceutical company Bayer, and his family.

UM Today met with his daughter, Dr. Sara Israels, who is a pediatric hematologist and a professor in the department of pediatrics and child health, to hear her thoughts on the Professorship, and to learn about the textbook that made it all happen.

UM Today: How does it feel to see your father honoured in this way for his contributions?

Dr. Sara Israels: Entirely appropriate, actually. This is not the first time that he has been honoured by the University of Manitoba for his contributions to building a clinical and academic Hematology/Oncology program. But this professorship provides a wonderful legacy. Once established, I hope that there will always be a hematologist holding this position, and that Lyonel will continue to be remembered.

What are some of the great things happening in Hematology research right now?

Hematology is an extremely broad field because blood interacts with all other body organ systems. Blood cells are made in the bone marrow but once they leave the bone marrow they circulate through the body and are responsible for such diverse activities as carrying oxygen, fighting infection and preventing bleeding. There is research going on now at the University of Manitoba focused on important topics in Hematology such as leukemia, bone marrow transplantation, blood transfusion, and bleeding disorders.

One important example is the translational research program investigating both the basis for, and new treatment approaches to, a particular kind of leukemia called chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL. I want to mention this because CLL was one of Lyonel’s particular interests – he was interested in therapy for CLL for most of his career. This research program is an endeavor jointly supported by the University of Manitoba and CancerCare Manitoba, and involves a large interdisciplinary team of basic scientists, medical doctors, students, and allied health professionals.

Will this Professorship help thrust this forward?

I think it will. I am most interested in this Professorship supporting the research career of an emerging hematology researcher. I envision it being awarded to someone who has demonstrated early success in his or her research career and is ready to lead new or larger research projects. The availability of the Professorship, with its additional research support, will enhance their opportunities for success. The Professorship also supports the University’s teaching mission; this individual will be a mentor to our present and future trainees in the field of Hematology.

Did your father share any good wisdom with you that you now find yourself sharing with other generations?

He told me that I should always aim high. He grew up in rural Saskatchewan during the Depression. It was not obvious from his background that he would become a doctor or that he would make lasting contributions to medicine and scholarship. I think his point was that we should not sell ourselves short. We all have the ability to do more; if we are enthusiastic, committed and willing to work hard we can accomplish important things, even things people did not expect of us. I think that was very important advice for me. I know it was also important advice for his other students, many of whom went on to be successful researchers and teachers here, and at other universities in Canada and the United States. I give the same advice to my students.

Do you want to say anything to Bayer?

Yes. Bayer initiated the endowment for this Professorship and I would like to tell you why that happened.

Dr. Sara Israels with the textbook that made it all happen.

When Lyonel stepped down from the position of Executive Director of the Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation (now CancerCare Manitoba) in 1993—after more than 20 years – he certainly was not ready to retire. He was interested in focusing on education for trainees in Hematology. He decided that what was lacking was teaching material that would help these students to understand the basic mechanisms of hematologic disease and to integrate that understanding with what they were seeing in the clinic. So, he and my mother Esther, who is also a physician and hematologist, started to write a book that they called Mechanisms in Hematology.

They had a small amount of funding and help from a few local colleagues, but they did 98% of the work. My father was the primary author; my mother also authored some of the chapters but took on the major role as editor. They had a small number of copies printed for their students in Winnipeg. I took one of the copies with me to a meeting in Toronto to show my colleagues from across the country. At one of the coffee breaks, I was walking around with the book under my arm, and Rena Battistella, who worked for Bayer said, “What’s the book?” So I showed her the book. Rena was immediately interested and saw its potential for teaching hematologists outside of Manitoba. She contacted Lyonel and then came to Winnipeg to meet Lyonel and Esther. She then convinced her colleagues at Bayer to support the production and distribution of the book.

Lyonel and Esther were very pleased, so they wrote a second edition. They found a publisher in Toronto, but Lyonel and Esther continued to do the majority of the work. The second edition had a companion CD with interactive graphics. The third edition, which was completed in 2002, had more sophisticated graphics and new expanded chapters. The book became available more widely in North America and was used for teaching in many programs. When I went to Hematology conferences, people would see my nametag and ask, “Did you write Mechanisms in Hematology!?” and I’d say, “No that was my parents.”

Bayer was committed to this project and supported the creation and distribution of all three editions. But what happened in the meantime is that Rena in particular, but others from Bayer as well, became good friends with Esther and Lyonel. It became a personal friendship and a successful partnership that promoted education in Hematology.

After Lyonel died, Bayer offered to support a lectureship in his honour. Starting in 2004, Bayer has provided an educational grant to CancerCare Manitoba allowing us to invite outstanding guest speakers to address important topics in clinical or translational hematologic research. The lecture is held in May and is one of the highlights of the year at CancerCare Manitoba.

Three years ago, when Rena and her colleagues came for the annual lecture, they said, ‘We came to tell you that we want to sponsor an endowed professorship in Hematology in Winnipeg.’ Most companies that sponsor a professorship or chair want it named for their company, but Bayer wanted it to be named in honour of Lyonel.

What went through your mind when you heard that?

I was overwhelmed. It speaks to the relationship that Lyonel had with Rena Battistella and with Bayer. They appreciated the significant impact of the work that Lyonel had done and that they had supported. They chose to go the next step and create a permanent legacy.