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Please direct any of your questions pertaining to the Alumni Awards and Recognition program to:
alumni@uwo.ca
Alumni Awards & Recognition
The Faculty of Health Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award
This award recognizes a remarkable individual who has shown a long-standing dedication to the health and well-being of their community or the Health Sciences community at Western. This individual is a leader in the health sciences and has made significant contributions throughout their lifetime by way of professional achievement or community service.
Current Winner
2026 Lifetime Achievement Award: Kelly Metcalfe
Dr. Kelly Metcalfe is a Professor and the Associate Dean of Research in the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at the Women’s College Research Institute. Dr. Metcalfe received her BScN in 1996 from the Western University, and her PhD in 2002 from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. Dr. Metcalfe’s research focuses on the prevention and treatment of breast and ovarian cancer in high-risk women, most specifically those with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. She has led international studies resulting in seminal research papers on the topic of treatment of BRCA-associated breast cancer. Dr. Metcalfe is using those research findings to test new models of care to ensure that women have access to genetic testing at the time of cancer diagnosis to make informed decisions about treatments. To-date, Dr. Metcalfe has published over 190 publications, including many in top journals including Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and British Medical Journal (BMJ). Dr. Metcalfe is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, the American Academy of Nursing, the Canadian Academy of Nursing, and is a Member of the New College of Scholars in the Royal Society of Canada. She has received numerous national and international awards, and most recently received the Women of Action Scientific Award from the Israel Cancer Research Fund.
Past Winners
2025
Lifetime Achievement Award: Louise Taylor, BScN’82, MN/NP(Peds)‘02
Louise Taylor, BScN, MN/NP (Peds), has had a distinguished career in pediatric nursing. For 36 years, she worked at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, dedicating herself to the respiratory medicine department, with a specialized focus on Cystic Fibrosis.
Throughout her career, Louise played a pivotal role in advancing the understanding and treatment of Cystic Fibrosis. She worked closely with the research team that helped identify the Cystic Fibrosis gene in 1989. Over the years, she continued to contribute to research and clinical advancements. Her dedication to the education and support of families improved the lives of countless children and adults affected by the disease.
Among her many achievements, Louise was instrumental in establishing Newborn Screening for Cystic Fibrosis in Ontario, a crucial step in early diagnosis and treatment. She established the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Nurses Interest Group to bring together the clinical nursing teams from across the country to share and enhance the practice of Cystic Fibrosis nursing. She also wrote and contributed to many professional publications and spoke around the world at national and international conferences.
In 2012, Louise was honored with the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her exceptional contributions to the field.
Even after retiring in 2018, Louise continues to make a difference in the community, working with Cystic Fibrosis Canada to fundraise and educate the public. Her lifelong dedication to helping young families navigate the medical system, improving the lives of children with this fatal chronic illness, and celebrating the advent of transformative new drugs, has left an enduring legacy of hope and progress.
New Alumni Award: Dr. Gillian Mandich
Dr. Gillian Mandich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba. She is a happiness researcher, educator, speaker, and author who holds a PhD in Health Science, an MSc, and a BHSc from Western University. Dr. Mandich is the founder of the International Happiness Institute of Health Science Research and co-lead investigator of The Canadian Happiness at Work Study with the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Dr. Mandich appears regularly in the media on The Social, Breakfast Television, Global, The Morning Show, and other national and international outlets. She has delivered two TEDx talks, been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network, and received the Western University Young Alumni Award.
She also serves on the advisory boards of Obesity Matters and Unsinkable, and volunteers in Pet Therapy at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), in Crisis and Critical Care, with her French Bulldog, Jocko.
