Three Canadian scientists have been recognized by UBC’s Faculty of Medicine for their exceptional scientific achievements in the areas of cancer, brain health and heart disorders.
Dr. Cheryl Arrowsmith, Dr. Michael Hill and Dr. John Webb are the 2024 recipients of the Faculty’s National Research Prizes, which recognize those who demonstrate research excellence and continuing contributions to their fields.
“We honour this year’s recipients who have demonstrated excellent translational research in the areas of cancer, brain health and heart disorders, respectively,” said Dr. Robert McMaster, Vice Dean, Research, UBC Faculty of Medicine. “Their work not only impacts lives today, but also holds promise for future breakthroughs.”
Each prize is valued at $50,000 CAD, making them among the most prestigious honours bestowed by a Canadian university. The recipients were selected by a committee of international experts.
Dr. Chew Wei Memorial Prize in Cancer Research
The 11th Annual Dr. Chew Wei Memorial Prize in Cancer Research is awarded to Dr. Cheryl Arrowsmith from the University Health Network in Toronto for her wide-ranging research into human chromatin regulatory proteins and significant contributions to drug discovery and cancer therapeutics.
Dr. Arrowsmith is a Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, and the Chief Scientist of the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Arrowsmith is a world-leading structural biologist whose research focuses on the structural and chemical biology of chromatin and epigenetic regulatory factors especially as it relates to cancer. In partnership with major pharmaceutical companies, she leads the SGC’s international open science program that is developing and distributing unencumbered chemical probes to support the discovery of new medicines. She has made enormous contributions to the field with her expertise in epigenetic events in cancer which have led to the development of tools used widely in the research community globally.
Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize
The 14th Annual Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize is awarded to Dr. Michael Hill from the University of Calgary for his leadership in developing new therapies and approaches for treating and preventing stroke.
Dr. Hill is a Professor for the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences, Community Health Sciences, Medicine and Radiology at the University of Calgary. He is the Director for Stroke Unit for the Calgary Stroke Program, Alberta Health Services and provides clinical stroke care as part of the program at Foothills Medical Centre.
Dr. Hill has led multiple national and international clinical trials that have been instrumental in shaping clinical practice globally. His achievements include the development of a CT measure to detect severity of stroke damage and trials that determined the role of alteplase for stroke treatment. Dr. Hill and his team also led the development of major new and important therapies for stroke, including Endovascular Thrombectomy (EVT) treatment and acute endovascular treatment to remove clots from brain arteries. He continues to lead multiple new therapeutic trials that promise to have important impacts for stroke patients in the future.
Margolese National Heart Disorders Prize
The 2024 Margolese National Heart Disorders Prize is awarded to Dr. John Webb from UBC for developing innovative new approaches for heart valve replacement that are transforming cardiac care and improving patient outcomes globally.
Dr. John Webb is the McLeod Professor of Heart Valve Innovation at UBC and Director of the Centre for Heart Valve Innovation at St. Paul’s and Vancouver General Hospitals in Vancouver, where he is also the Director of Interventional Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology Research and the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program.
Dr. Webb’s groundbreaking work is reflected in nearly all international cardiovascular guidelines. The minimally invasive aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve interventions he first developed in Vancouver are becoming the gold standard of care around the world. His publications led to a paradigm shift and the adoption of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for patients with severe symptomatic aortic valve stenosis. Initially performed in only high risk non-surgical patients, transfemoral TAVR is now performed in most patients, regardless of age or risk, with patients usually going home the day after their procedure. Dr. Webb has also developed the retrograde transfemoral approach which is used by 95 per cent of all procedures performed worldwide.
The Margolese prizes were created by an estate gift to UBC by Leonard Herbert Margolese to recognize Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to the treatment, amelioration or cure of brain or heart disorders. Margolese, who passed away in 2000, was a Vancouver businessman who had a heart condition and whose brother had Alzheimer’s disease.
The Dr. Chew Wei Memorial Prize in Cancer Research is named for a Hong Kong physician who retired to Vancouver in 1988. An obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr. Chew grew determined to improve outcomes for people with cancer. After his death in 2009, his family and friends sought to honour his goals by endowing a Faculty of Medicine prize in cancer research, as well as a chair and a professorship in gynecologic oncology.