Faculty members and students awarded at Graduate Plenary

Faculty members and graduate students were celebrated at this year’s Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Plenary.

The Plenary awards, hosted on May 8, began with a presentation competition where participants shared their knowledge through research presentations, with prizes for the winning presenters. Over 70 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows were presented with awards to acknowledge excellence among the graduate programs as well as to acknowledge excellence in the categories of international trainees, leadership, publications, and teaching assistance.

“It’s such a privilege to host the Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Plenary,” said Steven Hanna, vice-dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and associate dean of Graduate Studies (Health Sciences).  “When we come together to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, it is a powerful reminder of how fortunate we are to be working in this incredible community with these future leaders of health research and healthcare in Canada,” added Hanna, who is also a professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact.

Three Health Sciences faculty members received the Excellence in Graduate Supervision Award. Nominated by students, the award is an opportunity to express gratitude toward supervisors and to acknowledge the positive impact they have made on graduate students’ time at McMaster. The recipients of this year’s Excellence in Graduate Supervision Award are Catherine Munn, associate clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Matthew Sibbald, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, and Elena Verdu, professor in the Department of Medicine.

The Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award is an opportunity for faculty members to be recognized for their impact on students through teaching their graduate courses. Students nominate faculty members for this award, which acknowledges the positive impact the faculty member has made through the duration of the course. Sayem Borhan, assistant professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI), was the recipient of this year’s Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award.