Michelle Harkness Mentorship Award

Recognizing Mentorship

in the Fields of Airways and Allergic Disease

This award was created to honour the memory of Michelle Harkness, AllerGen’s Manager of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) Training and Events from 2011 to 2017, following Michelle’s sudden passing in August 2017. The awards recognize and support trainees, researchers and others working in airways and allergic disease who demonstrate a significant commitment to promoting capacity building, career enhancement and personal growth through mentorship.

Gallery of Award Winners and Grant Recipients

Michelle Harkness Mentorship Awards

2024 Call for Nominations & Applications

Deadline for submissions: 11 December 2023

AllerGen proudly announces the sixth call for nominations and applications to the Michelle Harkness Mentorship Award (MHMA) program.

These awards are NOT restricted to members of the AllerGen Network. Any Canadian citizen or landed immigrant working in the fields of airways or allergic disease is eligible to be nominated for an MHMA award or to apply for an MHMA grant.

See the Call for Nominations & Applications (Program Guide).

If you know someone working in airways and allergic disease whose commitment to mentorship has made a difference in the lives of others, celebrate that person.

Individuals can nominate mentors for recognition in one of three categories:

  • LIFETIME MENTORING ACHIEVEMENT
  • MENTORING EXCELLENCE BY AN INVESTIGATOR
  • MENTORING EXCELLENCE BY A NON-INVESTIGATOR

Deadline for 2024 submissions: 11 December 2023

Call for Nominations & Applications (Program Guide)

Nomination forms:  Lifetime Achievement  |  Mentoring Excellence: Investigator  |  Mentoring Excellence: Non-Investigator

If you aspire to become a more effective mentor, build your mentoring capacity.

Individuals working in airways and allergic disease who seek to enhance their mentoring skill-set can apply for a professional development grant of up to $2,500.

Deadline for 2024 submissions: 11 December 2023

Call for Nominations & Applications (Program Guide)

Application form: Mentorship Development Grant


AWARD WINNERS

2024 MHMA awardees – L to R: Wendy Lou, Tillie Hackett, Meghan Jones, Theo Moraes

Four exceptional members of the Canadian allergy and allergic disease research, education and advocacy communities were recognized for their excellence as mentors.

  2024 MHMA Lifetime Mentoring Achievement awardee

Wendy Lou (University of Toronto)

  2023 Mentoring Excellence – Investigator awardees

Tillie Hackett (University of British Columbia)

Meghan Jones (University of Manitoba)

Theo Moraes (Hospital for Sick Children; University of Toronto)

 

2023 MHMA awardees – L to R: Paul O’Byrne, Anne Ellis, Natalie Rodriguez, April O’Connell

Three exceptional members of the Canadian allergy and allergic disease research, education and advocacy communities were recognized for their excellence as mentors, and one was awarded a grant to support the further development of her mentoring skills.

  2023 MHMA Lifetime Mentoring Achievement awardee

Paul O’Byrne (McMaster University)

  2023 Mentoring Excellence – Investigator awardee

Anne Ellis (Queen’s University)

  2023 Mentoring Excellence – Non-Investigator awardee

Natalie Rodriguez (Azad Lab/Children’s Hospital Research Institute in Winnipeg)

  2023 MHMA Mentorship Development Grant awardee

April O’Connell (Human Resources Professionals Association & Canadian Association of Research Administrators)

2022 MHMA awardees – L to R: Teresa To, Padmaja Subbarao, Min Hyung Ryu, Joy Ramielle Lachica Santos

Three exceptional members of the Canadian allergy and allergic disease research, education and advocacy communities were recognized for their excellence as mentors, and one was awarded a grant to support the further development of her mentoring skills.

Read more

  2022 MHMA Lifetime Mentoring Achievement awardee

Teresa To (The Hospital for Sick Kids)

  2022 Mentoring Excellence – Investigator awardee

Padmaja Subbarao (The Hospital for Sick Kids)

  2022 Mentoring Excellence – Non-Investigator awardee

Min Hyung Ryu (Harvard Medical School)

  2022 MHMA Mentorship Development Grant awardee

Joy Ramielle Lachica Santos (University of Alberta)

Read more

2021 MHMA awardees – L to R: Dean Befus, Kelly McNagny, Jenny Thiele, Lori Connors

Three exceptional members of the Canadian allergy and allergic disease research, education and advocacy communities were recognized for their excellence as mentors, and one was awarded a grant to support the further development of her mentoring skills. The awards were presented on 29 October 2021 as part of the 2021 CSACI Annual Scientific Meeting.

Read more

  2021 MHMA Lifetime Mentoring Achievement awardee

Dean Befus (University of Alberta)

  2021 Mentoring Excellence – Investigator awardee

Kelly McNagny (The University of British Columbia)

  2021 Mentoring Excellence – Non-Investigator awardee

Jenny Thiele (Queen’s University)

  2021 MHMA Mentorship Development Grant awardee

Lori Connors (Dalhousie University)

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2020 MHMA awardees – L to R: David Proud, Del Dorscheid, Susan Elliott, Andrew Halayko, Kyle Dine, Kozeta Miliku, Jennifer Protudjer

Six exceptional members of the Canadian allergy and allergic disease research, education and advocacy communities were recognized for their excellence as mentors, and one was awarded a grant to support the further development of her mentoring skills.

Read more

  2020 MHMA Lifetime Mentoring Achievement awardee

David Proud (University of Calgary)

  2020 Mentoring Excellence – Investigator awardees

Del Dorscheid (The University of British Columbia)

Susan Elliott (University of Waterloo)

Andrew Halayko (University of Manitoba)

  2020 Mentoring Excellence – Non-Investigator awardees

Kyle Dine (Equal Eats/Food Allergy Canada)

Kozeta Miliku (University of Manitoba)

  2020 MHMA Mentorship Development Grant awardee

Jennifer Protudjer (University of Manitoba)

Read more

2019 MHMA awardees with Harkness family members – L to R: Min Hyung Ryu (representing Dr. Chris Carlsten); Loubna Akhabir; Lianne Soller; Mary-Ellen Rayner; Kasey Harkness; Manel Jordana; Gurpreet Singhera; Glenn Harkness; Meghan Azad; Jeremy Hirota; Sue Keller-Olaman; Paige Lacy. (Not pictured: Chris Carlsten and Neeloffer Mookherjee.)

Inaugural (2019) Michelle Harkness Mentorship Awards

The inaugural Michelle Harkness Mentorship Awards were presented on January 29, 2019, during the Gala evening of AllerGen’s ninth and final Research Conference in Toronto, ON. Eight exceptional members of the AllerGen network were recognized for their excellence as mentors, and four others were awarded grants to support the development of their mentoring skills.

Read the reAction story for details

  2019 MHMA Lifetime Mentoring Achievement awardee

Manel Jordana (McMaster University)

  2019 Mentoring Excellence – Investigator awardees

Meghan Azad (University of Manitoba)

Jeremy Hirota (McMaster University)

Paige Lacy (University of Alberta)

Christopher Carlsten (The University of British Columbia)

  2019 Mentoring Excellence – Non-Investigator awardees

Loubna Akhabir (McMaster University)

John-Paul Oliveria (McMaster University)

Gurpreet Singhera (The University of British Columbia)

  2019 MHMA Mentorship Development Grant awardees

Sue Keller-Olaman (Public Health Ontario)

Mary-Ellen Rayner (The Sandbox Project)

Lianne Soller(The University of British Columbia)

Neeloffer Mookherjee (University of Manitoba)

Read the reAction story for details

Support MHMA

Donations toward this award, for which a charitable receipt can be issued, can be made through AllerGen’s partner organization, The Sandbox Project, by:

Credit card: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-sandbox-project/

Cheque:: Made out to “The Sandbox Project” and mailed to:

The Sandbox Project, 30 Adelaide Street East, Suite #301, Toronto, ON M5C 3H1


For more information, please contact:

info@allergen.ca