Friesen Prize Lecture
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Needles Hall (NH) 3407, University of Waterloo
Waterloo faculty, staff, students and alumni are invited to attend the Friesen Prize Lecture and panel discussion featuring Dr. Brenda Andrews, recipient of the 2025 Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research, awarded by Friends of CIHR.
Please register by Wednesday, April 1, to confirm your attendance, as seating is limited.
Agenda
11 a.m. - noon
Panel discussion: Unpacking the complexity of human health and disease
Panelists: Dr. Brenda Andrews, Dr. Bernie Duncker, Dr. Natoya Peart and Dr. Valerie Ward
1 - 2:30 p.m.
Lecture by Dr. Brenda Andrews: Accelerating discovery: The catalytic impact of interdisciplinary environments and collaboration on basic biomedical research
2:30 - 3 p.m.
Meet and greet with Dr. Andrews and panelists
About Dr. Brenda Andrews
Dr. Brenda Andrews, C.C., PhD, FRSC, is an internationally renowned geneticist recognized for her functional genomics work in the budding yeast model system. She is known particularly for her studies on cell cycle-regulated transcription and protein kinase function in yeast and for pioneering work with Charles Boone on genetic networks. This fundamental research established the power of systematic genetics for illuminating the roles of genes and their corresponding pathways and the importance of genetic interactions in cellular function, both in health and disease. Dr. Andrews’ leadership skills, as the inaugural Director of the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research at the University of Toronto (2004-2020), established the Donnelly Centre as a premier institute internationally for interdisciplinary biomedical research and has helped solidify Canada’s reputation as a leader in post-genome biology and the emerging field of personalized medicine. In parallel with her service as Donnelly Director, Dr. Andrews held an appointment as Chair of the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research (BBDMR), which was integrated with the Donnelly Centre as part of a vision to create a collaborative environment to catalyze foundational biomedical research, technological innovation and clinical impact.
Read the full announcement, including a brief bio of Dr. Brenda Andrews.
About the panelists
Dr. Bernie Duncker
Bernie Duncker is a Professor in the Department of Biology in the Faculty of Science at the University of Waterloo. He earned his B.Sc. (Hons.) from the University of Ottawa, his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Queen’s University and completed a Terry Fox Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Dr. Duncker’s research on yeast and the proteins involved in controlling DNA replication and cell cycle checkpoints has applications in detecting the presence of environmental carcinogens and cancer in humans. He joined Waterloo as a faculty member in 2000 and has received a Canadian Cancer Society Research Scientist Award, an Ontario Early Researcher Award and two University of Waterloo Outstanding Performance Awards.
Bernie is currently teaching Human Molecular Genetics (BIOL 434).
Administratively, Bernie served two terms as Associate Dean of Research for the Faculty of Science (2012-18) and two terms as an Associate Vice-President in the Office of Research (2018-2025).
Dr. Natoya Peart
Natoya Peart is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology in the Faculty of Science at the University of Waterloo. She received her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2016, after completing her BSc in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University in 2010. Dr. Peart completed her postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania in the Departments of Medicine, and Biochemistry and Biophysics. She held a Johnson Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania before joining the faculty at the University of Waterloo in 2023. During her postdoctoral fellowship, she was named to Cell Mentor's 1000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America and was a Stanford-Berkeley-UCSF Next Generation Faculty Symposium Fellow.
Dr. Peart’s research program focuses on understanding how RNA processing and the modulation of this process influence cell fate and contribute to tissue development and disease. Her group employs 2D and 3D cell culture, genome-wide and gene-specific molecular approaches to interrogate RNA processing, with a particular interest in investigating RNA binding and regulatory proteins to understand how epithelial cells develop and maintain adhesion, permeability, and polarity.
Dr. Valerie Ward
Valerie Ward is the Director of the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research, Canada Research Chair in Biomanufacturing, and faculty member in Chemical Engineering specializing in pharmaceutical bioprocessing and microbial biotechnology. Her research focuses on developing advanced bioprocesses for the production and analysis of biologics, including therapeutic proteins and other complex biomolecules. Her group integrates metabolic engineering, cell-free systems and analytical technologies to improve the efficiency, scalability and understanding of modern biomanufacturing platforms. In addition to her work in pharmaceutical bioprocessing, Dr. Ward explores applications of engineered microbes in health, agriculture and sustainable biotechnology. She is also actively engaged in translating academic discoveries into commercial technologies and startup ventures.