University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine

10/02/2025

📢 We have tremendous news to share from the Cu***ng School of Medicine (CSM)!

A CSM professor, neurologist and prominent figure in stroke care and treatment, Dr. Michael Hill, MD, will be inducted into the 2026 Canadian Medical Hall of Fame!

You may know Dr. Hill as a clinician-scientist, research partner or mentor, for his dedication to advancing ischemic stroke care. He co-led the ESCAPE trial with a research team from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute - HBI, which showed how endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) drastically reduced stroke-related disability and death.

The ESCAPE study has informed clinical guidelines around the world and improved the lives of countless patients.

Named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2023, Dr. Hill was recognized for his major contributions to the advancement of acute stroke care and treatment on a local and global scale.

Dr. Hill is a leading member of the Calgary Stroke Program, a collaboration between the University of Calgaryand Alberta Health Services, and he has been a valued mentor to several students and fellows who have also gone on to advance stroke care across Canada.

We are delighted that Dr. Hill’s induction will take place right here in Calgary on June 18, 2026, and we look forward to celebrating his many profound accomplishments again in the spring.

👏🏼 Huge congratulations to Dr. Hill!

Read more: https://bit.ly/3Wj6DA1

Libin Cardiovascular Institute | O'Brien Institute for Public Health | Heart & Stroke | Canadian Institutes of Health Research

09/29/2025

👏🏼 Congratulations to Dr. Margriet Greidanus, MD, and Dr. Andrew Battison, MD, both emergency physicians and professors at , and to Dr. Prisca Kizito, MD, emergency physician and lecturer at the Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST)!

The trio has received the 2025 RCCI M. Andrew Padmos International Collaboration Award, and will be celebrated at a ceremony in Ottawa on Oct. 9!

Granted by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, this award recognizes dedication, leadership and collaboration in developing and advancing postgraduate medical education and residency training in Uganda.

Drs. Greidanus, Battison and Kizito have been instrumental to the long-standing partnership between the Cu***ng School of Medicine and MUST. MUST is one of more than 20 universities that are our global partners on health and social equity projects.

Alberta Health Services

09/26/2025

📢 We are thrilled to share that the Cu***ng School of Medicine (CSM) is about to accelerate innovation in precision medicine!

Thanks to a $12M-gift from alumna Susan Nelson, CSM researchers are better equipped to revolutionize personalized medicine by harnessing health data, AI and other tools.

The Nelson Precision Medicine and Learning Health System (PULSE) Centre for Innovation will establish a first-of-its-kind, provincewide multi-modal health data platform — a super bank of information that will help researchers and physicians identify faster diagnoses and more customized treatment plans for patients across Alberta.

“It’s an ambitious goal to bridge health data resources from an entire province and bring them together for innovation,” says Dr. James White, MD, director of the Nelson PULSE Centre.

“We want to make sure that all faculties and institutions, including post-secondary schools, gain access to this information to maximize its impact.”

The Nelson PULSE Centre builds on the CSM’s leadership and success in advancing personalized medicine.

A researcher at the CSM, Andreas Dauter understands the power of these advances. Dauter, who has a genetic condition that can lead to heart failure, has benefited from a tailored treatment plan that is helping him stay healthier.

The CSM is delighted that our precision medicine research leadership and vision to advance equitable, personalized health care through data, AI and machine learning has attracted Nelson’s investment. For people like Dauter, it means a brighter future!

🔗 Read the story: https://bit.ly/4nJPM5c

⬇️ Learn more

Libin Cardiovascular Institute | Hotchkiss Brain Institute - HBI | Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute | University of Calgary

09/25/2025

💜 September is PCOS Awareness Month! The EMBRACE Lab at is furthering women’s health with a focus on reproductive endocrine disorders like polycystic o***y syndrome (PCOS).

PCOS is a hormonal imbalance that affects ovaries, periods and fertility in about one in 10 Canadian women. Last night the Calgary Tower was lit up blue to raise awareness and to advocate for women living with the condition.

Did you know that PCOS poses serious health risks for women, yet is under-recognized and under-treated?

A recent article co-authored by Dr. Jamie Benham, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist and lead of the Embrace Lab Calgary, highlights the problems associated with under-diagnosis.

Read more: https://theconversation.com/polycystic-o***y-syndrome-pcos-is-a-big-threat-to-womens-health-but-its-still-under-recognized-under-diagnosed-and-under-treated-259602

O'Brien Institute for Public Health | Libin Cardiovascular Institute

09/24/2025

A new University of Calgary-led study of 16 years-worth of data is helping to explain Alberta’s physician shortage.

Led by Dr. Braden Manns, MD, the research shows multiple compounding factors behind today’s challenges.

Factors include an aging population and the increasing number of people with chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and mental health disorders, but also changing physician demographics and patient load.

Dr. Manns says system-level shifts help explain the access pressure on primary care delivery and offer clear direction for health systems to use in workforce planning and resource allocation.

“The solution isn’t just more doctors, or doctors with more time,” he adds. “We need to expand primary care teams that include allied health professionals in one place, under one roof.”

Canada has a growing shortage of family physicians with nearly 8.5 million Canadians or 15 per cent of the population without a family doctor, according to a 2024 study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

👇 Read more: https://ucalgary.ca/news/ucalgary-study-offers-new-insight-physician-shortage-alberta?fbclid=IwY2xjawM_uMJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETExenc5Z2ZKaFhKYkIwY1poAR5u1CcFqc-olI9iEPPCneolrjYBL-9gf00-qroZQaouBqjmZ2nSoXautS4gjQ_aem_2YTVoIMhxHALc3nF1wHe_w

Libin Cardiovascular Institute | O'Brien Institute for Public Health

Researchers analyzed 16 years of data and reveal changes driving many of today’s challenges

09/23/2025

🔶 Join us on Foothills campus as we recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

This special event will be an opportunity to honour survivors and raise awareness of the lasting impacts of residential schools. It's also a time to celebrate the resilience of Indigenous Peoples and to nourish our shared commitment to reconciliation.

The UCalgary Indigenous Health Program will host a film screening and hold space with guest speakers and performers on Sept. 29 at 3:30 - 5:30p.m. in the Libin Theatre.

Guests are encouraged to wear orange in honour of residential school survivors. Light refreshments will be provided.

➡️ Register here: https://bit.ly/46ECpwl

09/22/2025

🩺 In case you missed this, an exceptional group of Grade 11 students from Calgary and area high schools participated in the Alberta Innovates High School Youth Researcher (HYRS) program this summer.

The six-week program at the Cu***ng School of Medicine (CSM) Foothills campus offered students a chance to gain hands-on experience in a research lab—and even to start making their own discoveries.

With mentorship from Dr. May Lynn Quan, MD, a general surgeon and CSM professor, participant Zainab Rahmouni’s research explored breast cancer awareness for young women on TikTok.

“HYRS wasn’t just learning in labs,” Zainab says. “It was discovering what it means to be in the world of research, and I’m leaving this program more inspired than ever to keep going.”

👇 Read more about this next generation of leaders in health research and innovation: https://bit.ly/424MaT1

Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute | Charbonneau Cancer Institute | Hotchkiss Brain Institute - HBI

Six-week High School Youth Researcher Summer (HYRS) program offers first look at life at university and real-world research

09/17/2025

📣 Breakthrough research in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) is helping Cody Krebs gain control of his body again.

Following a traffic accident that severely damaged his spinal cord, Krebs now uses a wheelchair and faces potentially life-threatening swings in blood pressure.

Krebs is now part of ongoing research at the University of Calgary led by Dr. Aaron Phillips, PhD, one of the world’s leading spinal cord injury researchers.

Dr. Phillips and his team have developed a new, implantable technology that is helping to restore blood pressure balance for people with SCI. This life-changing technology improves blood pressure regulation through targeted neuromodulation that can be controlled through an app.

The research is a collaboration led by neuroscientists in Canada, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

It is part of a pair of landmark studies from Dr. Phillips, shared in a rare double publication in the journals Nature and Nature Medicine—in collaboration with Dr. Gregoire Courtine, PhD, of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and Dr. Jocelyne Bloch, MD, of University of Lausanne.

This transformative research and innovation in spinal cord neurotechnology means a better life for Krebs and many others living with SCI.

⬇️ Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3IeLLqn ⬇️

Hotchkiss Brain Institute - HBI | Libin Cardiovascular Institute | McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health | Canadian Institutes of Health Research | Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada | Heart & Stroke | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Neuroscientists and neurosurgeons from Canada, Switzerland and the Netherlands collaborate on life-changing research and innovation

09/16/2025

Research into nerve cells opens opportunities to pursue new treatment of pulmonary fibrosis

09/11/2025

Congratulations to Drs. Bruce Pike and Frank W. Stahnisch, who have joined the The Royal Society of Canada's Class of 2025 Fellows!

✨ Dr. Bruce Pike, PhD, a professor with the Department of Radiology, is a world leader in structural and functional imaging of the human brain whose innovations have led to landmark discoveries about brain composition, organization and physiology across the lifespan.

✨ Dr. Frank W Stahnisch, MD, PhD, a professor with the Departments of Community Health Sciences & History, is a distinguished historian of medicine whose work has expanded both academic and public understanding of global medical history.

➡️ Read more about their work: https://ucalgary.ca/news/royal-society-canada-announces-2025-fellows-including-three-ucalgary-scholars

Hotchkiss Brain Institute - HBI | O'Brien Institute for Public Health | UCalgary Arts

09/10/2025

Every year, the incoming class of medical students is given an (often obscure) animal name by the class before them. That tradition lives on as we welcome the newest members of the menagerie:

🦈 The Wobbegongs - Class of 2028! 🦈

Wobbegongs, warm-weather carpet sharks found in shallow tropical waters, (see below!) are quiet creatures of the ocean floor. These stealthy masters of camouflage rock a unique look that blends in—until you take a closer look. They don’t chase the spotlight but when they act, it’s with precision and purpose!

Our University of Calgary medical school naming ritual dates back to 1975 when a professor became frustrated with his class and called them a “bunch of turkeys.” The name stuck and so has the tradition.

Wishing the best of luck to the Wobbies of 2028!

09/08/2025

⏰ Join us at the Cy Frank Legacy Lectureship 10th anniversary on Sept. 19!

This year also marks 10 years since Dr. Cy Frank's passing. Dr. Frank, MD, PhD, was an orthopaedic surgeon, scientist, longtime faculty member, and one of the founders of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. The special occasion will be commemorated by an extended half-day event featuring a dynamic lineup of speakers who will explore the past, present and future of health research and innovation.

Date: Friday, Sept. 19, 2025
Location: Foothills Medical Centre Auditorium
Time: noon - 5:00 p.m. *lunch included

➡ Learn more & register here: https://bit.ly/3KaKJMs

Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute