Mick Bhatia

A discovery by Mick Bhatia has been selected as one of the top 10 significant cancer research breakthroughs of 2012 by the Canadian Cancer Society.

Bhatia, director and senior scientist of the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute (SCC-RI), found the antipsychotic drug, thioridazine, kills cancer stem cells responsible for initiating leukemia without harming normal stem cells.

The cancer society selected the top 10 cancer research highlights to shine a light on the life-saving and life-enhancing potential of cancer research.

Murray Enkin

Murray Enkin, a professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology and clinical epidemiology and biostatistics, is being made a member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to maternal care and the development of midwifery as a recognized profession in Canada.

Enkin, who graduated from the University of Toronto in 1947, joined McMaster's medical school after its founding, and became renowned for his focus on the patient perspective in medical practice, especially in family-centred maternity. He led McMaster to establish Canada's first midwifery program.

He said he chose to practise in Hamilton precisely because it was close to a big city but it didn’t have a medical school "because I was tired of academia. Then the medical school started, and it was so innovative and exciting, I had to jump right in."

Gina Browne

Nursing professor Gina Browne has been honoured with the 2013 Excellence through Evidence Award from the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI).

The annual award recognizes a health services leader who has implemented evidence-informed innovations in care and service delivery.

Browne has spent her career at McMaster conducting research in chronic illness and service utilization; in developing researchers and research participants; and in linking and coordinating clinical and research initiatives.

Browne said she was especially delighted to be able to apply the award's honorarium to her current project involving children and youth who learn in different ways compared to mainstream youth.

"This is the first step in a mental health promotion strategy and not a treatment approach," she said. "It uses a variety of arts studios — music, dance, computer, literary and visual arts, and others — to help youth find their passion and the spark that ignites their enthusiasm for learning, self-esteem and life skills."

Mohit Bhandari

Mohit Bhandari, professor of surgery, has been recognized by three plastic surgery associations for his "unparalleled and transformational contributions to the entire specialty of plastic surgery." He was given an award of outstanding merit by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Bhandari also received the Award of Merit from the Canadian Orthopaedic Association. He was recognized for his many years of outstanding service to the orthopaedic profession and to Canadians in raising the standards of orthopaedic care.

Hertzel Gerstein

Hertzel Gerstein, professor of medicine and clinical epidemiology and biostatistics, received the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Diabetes Association.

The award is given to a prominent Canadian physician or medical scientist who is a leader in diabetes research and has made long-standing contributions to the Canadian diabetes community.

He was the principal investigator on the ORIGIN trial (Outcome Reduction with an Initial Glargine Intervention), which discovered long-term insulin use does not harm people with diabetes or pre-diabetes or put them at risk of heart attacks, strokes or cancer.

Amanda MacLennan

Amanda MacLennan, an assistant clinical professor of family medicine, received the Elizabeth J. Latimer Prize in Palliative Care. The award is named in honour of Canadian pioneering palliative care physician and educator Dr. Elizabeth Latimer, a professor emeritus of McMaster's Department of Family Medicine who died last year.

MacLennan entered the field of oncology in 1989. She has been working in Canada for 15 years in different community and palliative care settings, including Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, the Halton Community Care Access Centre, the Brampton Civic Hospital and the Brameast Family Practice Group.

She is recognized as a leader in improving palliative care by bringing together clinical leaders in various disciplines to integrate palliative care throughout the health care system.

"Whenever she gets involved in a patient's care, urgent frightened calls to our oncology clinic drop off, emergency department visits almost halt, and patients are directed back to us urgently when there are truly needs we can address," said Sandeep Sehdev, an oncologist at the Brampton Civic Hospital campus of the William Osler Health System and an assistant clinical professor in family medicine at McMaster University.