2008

Dr. Peter Burns

Dr. Peter Burns, a senior scientist in imaging at SRI, has received two awards for his contributions to the physics of ultrasound. The William J. Fry Memorial Lecture Award is the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine's highest award for lifetime achievement in basic science research in ultrasound. The IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society's Distinguished Lecturer Award will launch Burns on an international lecture tour for technical audiences. The society selects distinguished lecturers based on speaking style, prominence in the lecture topic field, and willingness to commit to lecture preparation and travel.

Dr. James Carlyle

Dr. James Carlyle, a scientist in the discipline of molecular and cellular biology at SRI, has achieved recognition at the provincial, national and international levels. The Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation has awarded him an Early Researcher Award: a grant of $100,000 over five years, with a 50% match by SRI.
Carlyle was also named a CIHR New Investigator, considered to be one of the most prestigious awards in the country; he will receive $300,000 over five years. He ranked first in his committee in this competition and in the top 3% overall.
Finally, Carlyle received a five-year $500,000 (U.S.) Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, an American foundation.
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Dr. Charles Cunningham

Dr. Charles Cunningham, an imaging scientist at SRI in the Schulich heart research program, accepted Canada's Premier Young Researcher award at the Canadian Health Research Awards gala on November 19th, held at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. The award, worth $560,000 over five years, is co-funded by the Peter Lougheed Medical Research Foundation and the CIHR, and given annually to the top applicant in the CIHR New Investigator funding competition. In that competition, Cunningham placed first of 50 researchers from across Canada. One-half of the award goes to salary, with the remainder available for operating expenses.
Cunningham has also been awarded a CIHR New Investigator award for his work on frequency-selective magnetic resonance imaging in regenerative medicine. The award is worth $60,000 a year for five years.
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Dr. Stuart Foster

Dr. Stuart Foster, a senior scientist in imaging research at SRI, and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Ultrasound Imaging, has been presented with the Premier's Discovery Award in Innovation Leadership. The award, worth $250,000, recognizes outstanding leadership in the transfer of knowledge and/or technology by Ontario's most accomplished researchers. Chosen through a highly competitive process, Foster was recognized for the significant impact of his research and its commercialization, which has transformed preclinical imaging. Read more.

Dr. Robert Jankov

Dr. Robert Jankov has been awarded a CIHR New Investigator Award to pursue research on newborns with pulmonary hypertension. The award—$60,000 a year for five years—provides opportunities for scientists who are within the first five years of their independent research journey to develop and demonstrate their independence in initiating and conducting health research. For Jankov, the funds will be put toward his further study of the usefulness of a new class of pulmonary vasodilators, Rho-kinase inhibitors.

Dr. Robert Kerbel

Dr. Robert Kerbel, a senior scientist in molecular and cellular biology at SRI, secured a renewal of his Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, which provides $1.4 million in salary support over seven years. Funded by the government of Canada, the chair will allow Kerbel to pursue his research into tumour biology and emerging antiangiogenic cancer therapies.
Kerbel was also honoured by the European Institute of Oncology with its 2008 Breast Cancer Award. He was recognized for his achievements in the study of tumour biology, drug resistance, metastases and tumour angiogenesis, and his contribution to the discovery of antiangiogenic drug activity and its surrogate biomarkers. The award was presented to Kerbel at the 10th Milan Breast Cancer Conference on June 18, 2008, where he gave a lecture in memory of Dr. Judah Folkman, a cancer scientist and physician widely held to be creator of the field of angiogenesis research, who passed away in January 2008. Watch a video of Dr. Kerbel discussing Dr. Folkman's legacy.

Dr. Robert Nam

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has awarded Dr. Robert Nam its Medal in Surgery. The award, worth $5,000, is one of two the college grants annually (the other is in medicine), in a show of national recognition for original work by clinical investigators who have completed their training within the past 10 years. Nam co-led a study demonstrating that expression of the prostate-specific fusion gene TMPRSS2:ERG indicates a strong risk for disease relapse in patients who have undergone surgery. An associate scientist in clinical epidemiology at SRI, Nam is also a clinical oncologist at the Odette Cancer Centre.

Cameron Piron

Ministry of Research and Innovation 2008 Premier's Catalyst Award for Best Young Innovator

Cameron Piron, president and cofounder of SRI start-up company Sentinelle Medical Inc., was chosen for the Premier's Catalyst Award for Best Young Innovator, which recognizes young innovators who have developed a commercially successful product or service based on a breakthrough technology. Piron and SRI Senior Scientist Dr. Donald Plewes invented the Sentinelle Vanguard System, a breast magnetic resonance auxiliary table that allows more patients to be scanned in a single day, and enables doctors to provide faster and more accurate diagnoses of breast cancer and other conditions through its outstanding image quality.

Jelena Tomic

National Cancer Institute of Canada Harold E. Johns Studentship Award

The National Cancer Institute of Canada has awarded Jelena Tomic the 2008 Harold E. Johns Studentship Award. Tomic is a doctoral student in the lab of Dr. David Spaner, a molecular biologist in the Odette cancer research program. She won the $2,500 honour for placing first in a 16-member committee's ranking of 59 applications from across Canada. Read more.

Dr. Graham Wright

Dr. Graham Wright, director of the Schulich heart research program, has been named to the 2008 class of GE Healthcare Thought Leaders, an initiative that recognizes the top minds in the field of magnetic resonance. Wright is one of 10 inductees. He was chosen for his important contributions to magnetic resonance, which include creating new catheter-based imaging devices to manage occlusive vascular disease, and establishing new methods to distinguish and characterize the border between endocardial infarcts and healthy tissue.

Dr. Juan Carlos Zúñiga-Pflücker

The Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI) has awarded Dr. Juan Carlos Zúñiga-Pflücker, a senior scientist in molecular and cellular biology at SRI, the 2008 Investigator Award for his fundamental research on T cell development. Establish in 2006, the award recognizes career excellence, and comes with $1,000 for travel by the recipient's trainees to the next CSI conference. "It's a distinction to be honoured by your peers," says Zúñiga-Pflücker, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Developmental Immunology. "Hopefully, the award will help inspire new investigators as well."