2020-2021 BMI Awards Recipients

• The Syed Sattar MSc Award recognizes the most meritorious students who have contributed to the advancement of knowledge by their outstanding scientific contribution. It is a great pleasure to give the 2020/2021 Syed Sattar MSc Awards to Nicole Baker (Dr. Mireille Khacho Lab) and Robin Smyth (Dr. Jim Sun Lab). 
• The Syed Sattar Ph.D. Award recognizes the most meritorious students who have contributed to the advancement of knowledge by their outstanding scientific contribution. It is a great pleasure to give the 2020/2021 Syed Sattar Ph.D. Awards to Corina Stewart (Dr. Marceline Côté Lab) and Melissa Sen Phuong (Dr. Subash Sad Lab).
• The Michael McBurney Postdoctoral Fellow Award is awarded for outstanding research and publications. This year, the award is given to Dr. Lara Gharibeh from Dr. Mireille Ouimet Lab. Dr. Gharibeh has made noteworthy contributions to research where her Ph.D. work led to the discovery that GATA6 is essential for cardiac aortic valve development and that its mutation leads to bicuspid aortic valve disease. 
• The Michael McBurney Research Associate Award is awarded for outstanding contributions to research and publications. This year’s recipient is Dr. Michael Kennedy from Dr. Rebecca Auer Lab. Dr. Kennedy has made an incredible contribution to the scientific community at BMI, where he has mentored many BMI trainees, and his research accomplishments are excellent. 
• The Denis Williamson Teaching Award recognizes the contributions in teaching in a graduate or undergraduate education. This year’s awardee is Dr. Adam Rudner, who has made extensive contributions to the development and execution of the FoM Translational and Molecular Medicine (TMM) undergraduate BSc program. Dr. Rudner did pioneer work on developing the Sea-phage course making uOttawa the only university in Canada to offer that option.
• The Jean Himms-Hagen Research Award acknowledges recent innovative and transformative research. The Jean Himms-Hagen Research Award for 2020-2021 is awarded to Dr. Katey Rayner. Dr. Rayner is recognized for her strong leadership, innovation, and contributions to research in BMI, nationally and internationally. The committee recognized the outstanding scientific productivity with nine papers, and so only in 2020/2021, with some of them published outstanding journals such as Nature Metabolism and Circulation.
• The Ken Dimock Exceptional Service Award recognizes the incredible commitment and lasting contributions to the Department of BMI. This year’s recipient is Dr. Kristin Baetz, who is recognized for her leadership and contributions to the FoM and BMI during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her leadership led the way to ensure our research institute was functional and secure while following the Ottawa Public Health (OPH) programs. Her leadership provided students, staff, and researchers a safe environment for working and learning.

Congratulations to all!