McMaster University professor Lehana Thabane has been named the recipient of the 2022 Award for Impact of Applied and Collaborative Work from the Statistical Society of Canada (SSC).

“The award is an acknowledgement of the positive, inclusive, collegial, nurturing, and collaborative culture that we have built at McMaster and St. Joe’s,” said Thabane, a professor of the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) at McMaster and the vice president, research at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.

“It is a celebration of the Ubuntu spirit that is the foundation of every collaboration that says, ‘I am because we are!’”

A major focus of the annual award is recent and impactful work done outside of the statistical sciences.

The award committee cited Thabane’s outstanding contributions to the development and application of statistical methods for emerging and innovative clinical trial designs; his statistical leadership in the design and conduct of impactful collaborative health studies that have led to significant advances in clinical practice guidelines and helped shape new health policy; and his passion and extraordinary contributions in mentoring without borders that has influenced hundreds in Canada and worldwide.

Over the years, Thabane has proven himself a prolific researcher, having contributed to over 1000 scientific publications. He has contributed to the areas of cardiology, perioperative medicine, HIV-AIDS, primary care, and others. As a methodologist, he has also led the development of clinical trials methodology, risk assessment, and evidence synthesis methods.

“Dr. Thabane is less interested in showing his own value than he is in understanding his research partners’ needs and providing them with feasible, sound solutions to support their own successes,” said Alfonso Iorio, HEI chair.

“He has spent his entire career troubleshooting clinical researchers’ problems with technically brilliant solutions, which is one of the many reasons he is so deserving of this award.”