Appointments & Awards: February 2026

Appointments

Allison McGeer appointed to the Order of Canada

Awards

Division of Critical Care

Dominique Piquette, 2026 PSI Mid-Career Knowledge Translation Fellowship, PSI Foundation

• The SSPARK (Sourcing, Synthesizing, Presenting, and Applying Research Knowledge) Project will improve the health of Ontarians by ensuring that the best available evidence is consistently applied in critical care settings across the province. By embedding knowledge translation and continuing professional development within day-to-day clinical practice, SSPARK will reduce persistent knowledge-to-practice gaps, enhance clinicians’ competence, and support more reliable delivery of evidence-based care. Its cross-institutional model will strengthen collaboration between academic and community ICUs, reduce inequities in access to new knowledge, and foster a sustained culture of learning and quality improvement. Ultimately, this initiative is expected to lead to safer, more effective critical care and better patient outcomes for Ontarians.

Division of Dermatology

Christian Murray, acknowledged by Ontario Health Cancer Care for his participation as an expert panel member on #8-8 Version 2: The use of indoor tanning devices and the risk of developing cutaneous malignant melanoma: a systematic review and clinical practice guideline. Dr. Murray contributes to the Program in Evidence-Based Care (PEBC).

Division of General Internal Medicine

Umberin Najeeb, AFMC May Cohen Equity, Diversity and Gender Award, The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada

Reena Pattani, 2026 CAME Certificate of Merit, Canadian Association for Medical Education

Tara O'Brien, 2026 CAME Certificate of Merit, Canadian Association for Medical Education

Division of Geriatric Medicine

Gary Naglie, invited to speak on "Supporting Drivers Through Driving Retirement: Clinical Strategies for Working with Medically At-Risk Drivers, with a Focus on Drivers with Dementia" at The Canadian Driving Rehabilitation & Transportation Conference and Senior Author for the presented abstract Equipping Nurse Practitioners with Knowledge and Confidence to Support Driving Cessation in People with Dementia at the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) NP Symposium

Kristina Kokorelias, Travel Awards – Institute Community Support to attend the Spring 2026 New Investigator Forum, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Kristina Kokorelias and Luxey Sirisegaram, Fall 2025 Project Grant for the project Co-Designing a Culturally Adapted Self-Management Health Intervention for Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan Older Adults Living with Diabetes and Their Family Caregivers in Ontario, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) 

Division of Hematology

Aaron Schimmer, Canadian Science Publishing Senior Investigator Award, Canadian Science for Molecular Biosciences

Vikas Gupta and James Kennedy, Clinical Translation Pathway CATALYST Funding Stream for the project Clinical Utility of Transcriptomics to Optimize the Outcomes of Transplantation in Myelofibrosis, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR)

Division of Neurology

Arjun Balachandar, 2026 American Brain Foundation Next Generation Research Grant in Parkinson’s Disease

William Kingston, Right Care Challenge Innovation Plan II Award for the project Rapid Access to Migraine Treatment Pathway for Emergency Room Diversion (RAMP), Healthcare Excellence Canada

Division of Respirology

Samir Gupta, 2026 Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research Teaching Award, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME)

Division of Rheumatology

Evelyn Rosenblyum, 2026 Early Career Teacher-Educator Award, Canadian Rheumatology Association