This week Waterloo Pharmacy recognized the impressive achievements of graduate students.
The Graduate Students Award Ceremony is an annual event where six graduate awards and one faculty award are presented. This year’s winners are:
Donald J. and Kathleen D. McDougall Graduate Scholarship: Jonathan Sutley
The McDougall Scholarship recognizes graduate students who demonstrate both scholastic excellence and a commitment to service in their community.
Jonathan’s numerous volunteering efforts range from helping patients with prescribed physical exercise at UW Well-Fit to delivering health technology education to seniors as part of the eHealth Literacy Program. He is also a strong researcher with significant grant support of his work investigating Alzheimer’s treatments as part of Dr. Praveen Nekkar’s lab.
Highest Grade in the Course Topics in Drug Development: Heather Dekker
This award recognizes the highest performing student in a mandatory course for pharmacy graduate students.
Heather is a dedicated student and an accomplished researcher in the lab of Dr. Jonathan Blay. Her research examines drug resistance in colorectal cancer, and her meticulous nature and strong work ethic are evident in her success in the drug development course.
Best Mentor as a Graduate Student Teaching Assistant: Samantha Shortall
Samantha is a hardworking PhD candidate in Dr. Shawn Wettig’s lab group. She received several nominations for the award, and every instructor she’s worked with praised her dedication and reliability. As a TA, Samantha consistently has a full understanding of course material and goes above and beyond all expectations in ensuring that students receive informed and effective support throughout the course.
Best Student Presentation in the Research Seminar Series: Kate Mercer
Kate is a PhD candidate in Dr. Kelly Grindrod’s lab. Her research explores how people access health information, mHealth, aging and mobile technologies, and how to best translate research into accessible information. Kate’s award-winning seminar was entitled “Connecting and engaging cancer patients in decision-making with physicians and pharmacists through electronic health records.”
Best Thesis Defence in the Pharmacy Graduate Program: Anil Maharaj
This award recognizes the strongest thesis defence from a graduate student in the previous year.
Anil successfully completed his PhD thesis defence in February 2017. He is now postdoctoral fellow at St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis in the lab of Dr. Clinton Stewart. At Waterloo Pharmacy, Anil was a member of Dr. Andrea Edginton’s lab, and his defence was entitled “Parameterization of in silico Oral Disposition Models: Focus on Pediatrics.”
Special Merit Award for Substantial Impact on Our Overall Research Mission: Nyasha Gondora
Nyasha was the winner of the Faculty of Science 2016 Three Minute Thesis competition which is a demonstration of one of the many ways in which she acts as a positive representative for Waterloo Pharmacy. Her research and presentations have won several awards. As a co-supervised student by Dr. Michael Beazley from Waterloo Pharmacy and Dr. John Mielke from the School of Public Health and Health Systems, her work involves collaboration between multiple departments at the University.
Outstanding Faculty Mentor in the Graduate Program: Kelly Grindrod
Professor Kelly Grindrod received the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award in recognition of her dedication to supporting learners of all types. She assists her students in organizing and planning their projects and connects them with mentors for both research and professional advancement. As one nomination letter stated, “she inspires me in many ways, not the least of which is the importance she places on having a work-life balance.”
Congratulations to all winners!