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Dean's Alumni Awards

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Our Temerty Medicine alumni network consists of more than 71,000 graduates of our life sciences, rehabilitation sciences, radiation sciences, Physician Assistant, MD and MD/PhD programs, as well as former U of T residents and clinical fellows. Together, they are contributing to better health and health care throughout Toronto, across Canada and around the world.

Every year we celebrate our Temerty Medicine alumni community's impact with the Dean’s Alumni Awards, as selected by a committee of volunteers including alumni. We highlight the contributions of our alumni as they advance clinical care, health research, medical education and more.

Nominate Outstanding Alumni

Help us recognize exceptional alumni and share their achievements with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine community. Nominations for the 2025 Dean's Alumni Awards are now open — the application deadline is March 21st, 2025.

SUBMIT AWARD NOMINATION

Award Categories

Lifetime Achievement Award

This award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated a lifetime of exceptional professionalism through leadership, research, teaching, clinical care, administration or public service.
Open to all Temerty Medicine alumni

Impact Award

This award recognizes research and health science education alumni who have significantly impacted their profession and/or field through research, innovation, extraordinary care or other remarkable contributions. The impact of their work should be seen as influential. The recipient may be recognized for a specific achievement or a body of work.
Open to Temerty Medicine MSc, MHSc,  MScBMC, MScOT, MScPT, MHSc and PHD alumni who do not hold an MD from U of T or any other institution

*NEW* MAA MD Alumni of Distinction Award

In honour of the Medical Alumni Association, this award recognizes MD and MD/PhD alumni who have made exceptional contributions to the medical profession and/or health care field through research, innovation, clinical care or other remarkable contributions. The impact of their work should be seen as influential. The recipient may be recognized for a specific achievement or a body of work.
Open to Temerty Medicine MD and MD/PhD alumni

Humanitarian Award

This award honours alumni who have provided extraordinary volunteer service, demonstrating leadership through local or global work. Recipients have enriched the lives of others through their volunteerism in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine or through their work with civic, charitable and social causes beyond the scope of their clinical or academic responsibilities.
Open to all Temerty Medicine alumni

Emerging Leader Award

This award is presented to alumni early in their career who have completed their training in the past 15 years. Recipients will have demonstrated outstanding service to Temerty Medicine, their local medical/healthcare community, or a scientific or academic achievement. The recipient can receive this award for a specific achievement or a body of work.
Open to all Temerty Medicine alumni

Nominee Eligibility and Criteria

In addition to candidates meeting the specific award criteria above, nominations must also adhere to the following criteria:

  • Nominations may be submitted by any individual, independently or on behalf of a group or institution. Self-nominations will not be accepted.
  • Posthumous nominations will not be accepted.
  • Nominees can only be nominated in one category per year.
  • Nominees should exemplify professionalism in keeping with Temerty Medicine's core values and must be in good standing with their regulatory body as applicable.
  • Nominees can be from programs that were affiliated with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the time of their graduation but are now affiliated with a different division (see note re: Dalla Lana School of Public Health below)
  • Individuals who only completed post-doctoral research fellowships are not eligible for nomination.

Please be sure to include with your submission:

  • A letter of nomination highlighting the nominee's achievements and explaining why the nominee should receive the award. Maximum 250 words.
  • One letter of support from an individual familiar with the nominee's work (who is not the nominator nor the nominee’s spouse or relative). 
  • A current copy of the nominee's curriculum vitae.
  • Optional: Supplementary documents (maximum two) that convey the importance of the nominee’s work. These can include notices and reviews, media coverage, abstracts, etc.

Please note, nominations will be kept on file for three years for future consideration.

With the establishment of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) in 2013, some programs historically affiliated with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine are now affiliated with DLSPH. Alumni from these programs are now also considered DLSPH alumni and are therefore eligible for both Temerty Medicine and DLSPH alumni awards and other benefits. These programs include: 1) MHSc – a) Health Administration; b) Medical Science (Joint Centre for Bioethics); c) Public Health Science; 2) MSc – a) Public Health Science; b) Health Administration; c) Community Health; 3) PhD – a) Public Health Science; b) Health Administration; c) Community Health; d) Health Policy, Management & Evaluation. Please visit the DLSPH alumni awards website or contact Daniel Downey, DLSPH Alumni Engagement & Annual Giving Officer, at daniel.downey@utoronto.ca to learn more about awards to nominate and recognize the contributions of DLSPH alumni.   

Selection Committee Eligibility

Each award has its own committee of three to seven alumni who review the nominations and select the award recipient. If space allows, members may choose to serve on more than one award selection committee. Please note, we seek diversity of representation and thought in our selection committees.

If you would like to participate on an awards selection committee, please email Katrina Heisz at katrina.heisz@utoronto.ca.

All committee members:

  • Must be part of the U of T Temerty Faculty of Medicine community of alumni, students, faculty or staff.
  • Cannot be nominated in the current award year.
  • Cannot nominate or provide letters of support for current award candidates.
  • Be available to attend virtual committee meeting(s).

Previous Award Winners

Lifetime Achievement Award

Impact Award

Humanitarian Award (formerly Volunteerism)

Emerging Leader Award (formerly Rising Star)

MD 25th Anniversary Award

Insulin 100 Emerging Leader Award (2021)

We seek diversity of representation and thought in our selection committees and, over time, to achieve a balance across disciplines and backgrounds with our Dean’s Alumni Award recipients. For more information about the Dean's Alumni Awards program, please contact Katrina Heisz at katrina.heisz@utoronto.ca.