Presented during the Faculty’s Welcome Reception on October 2, the awards recognize outstanding achievement in research, leadership and service. The recipients reflected on the people, experiences and opportunities that helped shape their journeys.
Leadership shaped by community
“The whole village” is how Joyce Msuya (MSc 1996), recipient of the Exceptional Leadership Award, described the people behind meaningful work.
After moving from Tanzania to pursue a Master of Science in Microbiology and Immunology at uOttawa, Msuya found support from professors, fellow students and others who helped her find her way. She has since built a 25-year career with the United Nations and the World Bank Group, establishing the World Bank Group’s first office in Korea, co-directing a $1.3-billion investment strategy in Africa, leading the turnaround of the UN Environment Programme and overseeing humanitarian operations in more than 60 countries.
Reflecting on her journey, she spoke of the importance of passing on what she learned in Ottawa to the next generation. Her career illustrates how leadership can bring together scientific rigour, diplomacy and community-centred action to address global challenges.
For Exceptional Leadership Award recipient Dr. Peter St George-Hyslop (MD 1976), the recognition prompted a more personal reflection. Looking back on his career, St George-Hyslop emphasized the influence of those who helped shape his path. “I'm grateful for the mentoring and teaching that I received at the University of Ottawa... that shaped how I thought about problems in medicine and health care.”
An internationally acclaimed molecular geneticist and neurologist, St George-Hyslop has helped advance understanding of the genetic factors behind Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and motor neuron disease. Based at the University of Toronto, with appointments at the University of Cambridge and Columbia University, St George-Hyslop has helped advance understanding of the genetic factors behind Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and motor neuron disease. He has also mentored more than 60 postdoctoral fellows, PhD students and undergraduate learners.
Research that changes what is possible
For Dr. Jeffrey Weitz (MD 1976), recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, scientific progress remains closely tied to medicine’s fundamental purpose.
“Medicine has changed dramatically over the past 50 years, but its central purpose has not,” he said.
A professor at McMaster University and executive director of its Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute, Weitz has spent his career investigating blood clotting and the mechanisms of anticoagulants and clot-digesting drugs. Board-certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, his research has helped open new avenues for safer, targeted therapies, some now used in clinical practice. With more than 500 publications and an appointment to the Order of Canada in 2023, his work has had a lasting influence on research and patient care.
Dr. Mary-Ellen Harper (PhD 1991), also a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, reflected on the continuity between her student years and her work today. “It seems like yesterday,” she said. “I still very much enjoy what I'm doing now, and working with students and hoping to give back.”
A University Research Chair in mitochondrial bioenergetics and director of the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, Harper investigates how cells produce and use energy, with implications for metabolic health and disease. Her work spans fundamental cellular processes and translational research, while her mentorship helps prepare the next generation of scientists.
The next generation of discovery
The Rising Star Achievement Award recognizes Dr. David Pépin (PhD 2010), whose research is advancing understanding of female reproductive development, infertility and gynecologic cancers.
An associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and principal investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital, Pépin completed his doctoral studies at uOttawa before establishing his own laboratory. His research has helped clarify the role of anti-Müllerian hormone in early follicle development, with potential applications in fertility preservation, non-steroidal contraception and ovarian cancer research.
Pépin emphasized the importance of his graduate training and mentorshipunder Dr. Barbara Vanderhyden, whose guidance helped shape the foundation of his scientific career.
“I owe all that basically to the relationship with my mentor and the work that I did as a graduate student at the University of Ottawa,” he said.
Supporting the next generation
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