Two Named to Canada’s Highest Honour
Two members of the Faculty of Medicine have been named to the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honour. Professor Brenda Andrews, Director of the Donnelly Centre, has been appointed Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest level of the Order. Professor Frances A. Shepherd was named a Member of the Order. Shepherd is a professor in the Department of Medicine, Scott Taylor Chair in Lung Cancer Research and Senior Staff Physician at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, announced the appointments on December 30, 2015.
“It feels incredible to be awarded this honour, given all the other people who have been honoured by the Companion to the Order of Canada. I am humbled,” said Andrews.
Andrews is being recognized for her globally significant research in systems biology and for developing and nurturing prominent scientific communities in molecular genetics. After completing her PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry with Professor Paul Sadowski at the University of Toronto, Andrews obtained her postdoctoral training in genetics with Professor Ira Herskowitz at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Andrews returned to U of T as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics to start her own research group and was named chair of the department in 1999. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and holds the Charles H. Best Chair of Medical Research at the University of Toronto.
Shepherd is cited for her leadership in improving treatment options and outcomes for people with advanced lung cancer. She earned her M.D. from the University of Toronto in 1970. She has been the co-investigator or principal investigator in more than 100 trials and served as Chair of the Lung Cancer Committee of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group. She is a past President of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and was the recipient of the Jacqueline Seroussi Memorial Award for Cancer Research in 2004, the O Harold Warwick Award for Research Excellence of the National Cancer Institute of Canada in 2006 and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Research Award in 2007. She received the Order of Ontario in 2007 and was awarded an Ontario Premier’s Summit Award for Medical Research in 2008.
"I am thrilled to congratulate Professors Andrews and Shepherd on this wonderful and well deserved honour. Brenda is well known at home and internationally for her high-impact research, as well as her leadership, which is reflected in the mounting successes of the Donnelly Centre. Only a decade after its’ founding, the Donnelly has become one of the world-leading institutes for biomedical research," said U of T Medicine Dean Trevor Young. “Frances has helped to advance the treatment of lung cancer at both early and advanced stages. She's had a global impact and oversees a team that is recognized as one of the international leaders in bench to beside treatment of lung cancer.”
Andrews and Shepherd join other members of the U of T community named to the Order of Canada, including U of T President Meric Gertler and faculty members George Baird and Kent Roach. Established in 1967, the Order recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.
