It is a pleasure to congratulate the 2015 recipients of the Physician Academic Awards, recognizing the special achievements of members of our Vancouver Acute medical, dental and allied staff. These outstanding individuals were nominated by their peers and chosen by our selection committee to celebrate their work in the fields of clinical practice, research, education and administration. We are proud to continue to celebrate the tradition of over 100 years of service and commitment to excellence by the practitioners within our community of care.

Dr. Marshall Dahl

President, Medical, Dental and Allied Staff, Vancouver Acute

Clinical Professor, Endocrinology, University of British Columbia

Dr. Victor Huckell
Bobby Miller Award for Excellence in Teaching

Left to right: Drs. John Mancini, Victor Huckell and Marshall Dahl.

“Dr. Huckell has had a long and distinguished career in teaching; he has received many accolades both locally and nationally and continues to offer superb clinical training to multiple students each and every month.”

– Dr. Ken Gin

Since joining the UBC and Vancouver Divisions of Cardiology in 1978, Dr. Huckell has achieved an enviable status as a teacher, both locally and nationally. He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the St. Paul’s Hospital Bruce Shallard Lecturer Award for Distinguished Teaching, the prestigious UBC Killam Teaching Award, as well as the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Teaching Award. He has also received the UBC Department of Medicine Master Teacher Award, the UBC Clinical Faculty Award for Career Excellence in Clinical Teaching and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. To date, he has mentored close to 500 residents and 300 fourth-year medical students through his office rotation.

Dr. Huckell’s teaching commitments cross local and national levels. He was the first director of the UBC cardiology postgraduate training program. He has been a member of the UBC Medical School Admissions Committee, a member of the UBC Faculty Committee, past regional Governor for the American College of Cardiology and he served as Chair of the Royal College Speciality Committee on Cardiology.

Dr. Huckell is a VCH-Vancouver Clinical Cardiologist and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at UBC, where he also serves as the Director of Education for UBC’s Division of Cardiology.

Dr. Eric Yoshida
Clinical Excellence Award

Left to right: Drs. Graydon Meneilly, Eric Yoshida and Marshall Dahl.

 “Dr. Yoshida is recognized locally and nationally for his work with liver transplantation and viral hepatitis. He is one of the reasons why VGH has a nation‐wide reputation as a centre for clinical excellence.”

– Dr. Graydon Meneilly

 Across B.C. and Canada, Dr. Yoshida is highly regarded for his work with end-stage liver disease. As director of the B.C. liver transplant program for many years, he evaluated the most complex and difficult cases of hepatic failure in the province to determine their suitability for transplantation, as well as to meticulously manage them pre- and post‐operatively to ensure a successful outcome. He is held in the highest regard by his colleagues for his ability to care for patients who are difficult to manage not just because of their complex medical issues, but due to their complex psychosocial issues as well.

Dr. Yoshida is also well known for his clinical work in viral hepatitis. He is considered the hepatologist of choice in our local community, and in the province, for patients with viral hepatitis. He has worked tirelessly on behalf of patients with end‐stage liver disease and hepatitis to advance the care of these patients over the last 20 years. At the same time, he has written numerous scholarly articles, and been an excellent mentor for the next generation of hepatologists.

Dr. Yoshida is Head and Principal Investigator of VCH-Vancouver’s Division of Gastroenterology, and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at UBC.

Dr. Ian Mackenzie
Scientific Achievement Award

Left to right: Drs. Mike Allard, Ian Mackenzie and Marshall Dahl.

“Dr. Mackenzie’s work has led to a remarkable paradigm shift in our understanding of neurodegenerative disorders. He is considered the most distinguished investigator in the world in FTLD and ALS with publications in Nature, Science, Brain and other scientific journals.”

– Dr. Monika Hudoba

Over the years, Dr. Mackenzie’s discoveries have had an enormous impact and shaped research in the field of neurodegenerative diseases, most notably frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), atypical parkinsonian disorders and Alzheimer’s disease.

One of Dr. Mackenzie’s latest major accomplishments was the explanation of three major causal genes of FTLD and ALS, and the corresponding elucidation of the critical proteins and mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of these disorders. In identifying new disease targets and treatment directions for FTLD and ALS, his research is already positively impacting clinical care. He has not only identified the mutations of the progranulin gene as being causal in families with FTLD-u, but also the surrounding biology and the mechanism of progranulin haploinsufficiency in the pathogenesis of the disease.

He is not only an excellent researcher, but also an outstanding clinical neuropathologist, teacher, mentor and lecturer.

Dr. Mackenzie is Head of the Neuropathology Division at VCH-Vancouver and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC.

Dr. John Mancini
Larry Collins Award for Committee Service

Drs. John Mancini (left) and Marshall Dahl.

“John is a very effective and committed physician whose work is greatly valued.”

– Dr. Marshall Dahl

Dr. Mancini has volunteered considerable time and effort to VCH-Vancouver’s Acute community, most recently as president of Medical, Dental and Allied Staff. He has also served as President of the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation and Chair of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon Research Committee. In addition, he has held multiple roles on scientific committees within the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Dr. Mancini has been honoured with the Eric W. Hamber Professorship at UBC, and he has served as Head of the Department of Medicine for VCH-Vancouver Acute Services and Director of Continuing Medical Education at UBC for many years. Through his distinguished academic and research career he has published more than 195 manuscripts, and he is recognized internationally for his work in quantitative coronary angiography and assessment of carotid intimal disease through the CIRCL (Core Lab), which he established at VGH. He has made tremendous contributions to our understanding of flow reserve, endothelial function and the role of lipid lowering, plaque regression and the risk of coronary events. His work has influenced our understanding of the mechanism of ACE inhibitors in preventing coronary disease, and the effects of stenting on patients with total occlusions. And, his role in the COURAGE study has profoundly influenced the way we treat contemporary heart patients. Dr. Mancini’s work has truly influenced the cardiology community nationally and internationally.

Today, Dr. Mancini remains in active practice as a physician with VCH-Vancouver’s Cardiology Outpatient Clinic and Cardiac Computed Tomography Program; he is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at UBC, and he directs the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Core Laboratory (CIRCL).

Dr. Dianne Miller
Bringing Clinical Renown to Vancouver Hospital

Drs. Dianne Miller and Marshall Dahl.

“Dianne really needs little introduction. Who at Vancouver Acute does not know Dianne, very few I suspect!”

– Dr. Mark Heywood

Dr. Miller is one of the cofounders of the Ovarian Cancer Research Program — OVCARE — at VGH. Dreaming of a better future for ovarian cancer patients, she was instrumental in developing the vision for a program drawing on the strengths of a multidisciplinary team across multiple institutions. OVCARE has since grown from a Vancouver-based group of researchers making individual contributions, to an internationally recognized team reshaping the way ovarian cancers are thought of in the research laboratory and clinics globally.

Dr. Miller is actively involved in both clinical trials and in collaborations with translational and basic scientists. She is particularly interested in potential screens for early diagnosis and in targeted therapies, and she serves as Chair of British Columbia’s Provincial Gynaecology Tumor Group.

For her outstanding contributions to the field of ovarian cancer, Dr. Miller is the 2015 recipient of the Virginia Greene Leadership Award. This prestigious award, presented by Ovarian Cancer Canada, recognizes an individual’s outstanding contribution to the advancement of awareness, knowledge transfer, support and research in ovarian cancer. This honour recognizes Dr. Miller’s leadership as co-founder of OVCARE and her work clinically and in translational research for which she is held in high regard nationally and internationally.

Dr. Miller is currently both Division Head of Gynecologic Oncology for VCH-Vancouver, and Division Head of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at UBC.

Dr. Graydon Meneilly
Special Service Award

Left to right: Drs. Mike Barnett, Graydon Meneilly and Marshall Dahl.

“Dr. Graydon Meneilly is an enthusiastic and tireless individual, an outstanding clinician, accomplished researcher and highly respected leader.”

– Dr. S. F. Paul Man & Dr. Mike Barnett

Since arriving in Vancouver in 1988, Dr. Meneilly has built a reputation as an outstanding clinician, educator and researcher. His contributions and service to VCH-Vancouver Acute Services can be measured by the immense respect he has earned from those who work with him, and the number of significant roles he has held over more than 20 years.

In 1994, he was appointed as Medical Director of Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre. He served as Head of Geriatric Medicine at VGH and UBCH from 1997 to 2002, and as Associate Head for the Department of Medicine at VGH and UBCH from 2001 to 2002, before his appointment as Department Head in 2002. In 2011, he was consigned as Physician-in-Chief for VCH-Vancouver Acute Services. In 2012, Dr. Meneilly was appointed for an unprecedented third time as Vancouver Acute’s Head of the Department of Medicine.

In addition to his extensive portfolio, Dr. Meneilly serves as Chair of the VGH Medical Operations Team, as Co-Chair of the Priorities Committee for VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, and as Co-Chair of the Medicine Council at VCH. He is also a member of the VCH-Vancouver Acute Medical Advisory Committee, the VCH-Vancouver Leadership Team, the Research Advisory Committee at VCHRI, and the One Acute Care Network Integration Council.

Dr. Meneilly, a Clinical Professor of Medicine, has been honoured with the Eric W. Hamber Professorship at UBC, where he also serves as Head of the Department of Medicine.

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