Anita Layton receives award from Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals
Congratulations to Dr. Anita Layton, Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematical Biology and Medicine, on receiving the 2023 Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals (FCCP) Education Foundation Award of Merit.
“I am pleased that my achievements at Waterloo have been recognized by the Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals,” Layton says. “I look forward to playing a bigger role in this community.”
The Award of Merit, which was established in 1985, is given once annually to “distinguished Chinese Canadians with outstanding professional achievements.”
“Layton is a truly exceptional mathematician who has made remarkable contributions to advancements in the fields of applied mathematics and computational biology,” says Dr. Geoffrey T. Fong, a professor of psychology and public health sciences at Waterloo and the 2020 recipient of the award. “She has an unparalleled commitment to education, teaching and mentoring, and is a leader in equity and diversity initiatives.”
Layton’s current research focuses on using mathematical modelling to understand kidney function. She has done top-tier interdisciplinary work here at Waterloo and in partnership with medical institutions and universities around the world to advance scientific understanding of kidney function. Her vast body of work includes more than 200 research publications in major scientific journals.
This Award of Merit is the most recent of many awards Layton has received in recognition of her achievements, including the 2021 Krieger-Nelson Prize from the Canadian Mathematical Society, as well as her 2022 election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
“Layton has made sustained, outstanding contributions to mathematics and medicine, with major theoretical and clinical impacts,” says Mark Giesbrecht, dean of the Faculty of Mathematics.
Layton is grateful to her “group of hardworking and brilliant trainees, without whom very little math would have been possible,” she says. This award is particularly special to her for another reason as well. “Since this award focuses on scholars with Chinese roots, I would like to dedicate this award to my late father, who passed away in May,” she says. “He inspired in me my love for science.”