Back row (left to right): Nathan Maertins (Asper School of Business alum), Debra Beach Ducharme, Audrey Henderson, Margaret Hart, Dr. Mary Ellen Hill (Lakehead University) and Wendy Kopeschny (Colliers Canada). Front row (left to right): Dr. Reg Urbanowski and Sharon Courchene
Rady roundup: Memorable Rady Faculty stories of 2025
From groundbreaking research to community impact, here are 10 news highlights from the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences this year.
Advancing rehab in First Nations communities
Two major wellness initiatives launched in the spring through a partnership between First Nations communities and UM’s College of Rehabilitation Sciences.
Wiiji Bimoseyang Binesi (Thunderbird Helping Them Walk), a 10-unit housing complex in Sagkeeng First Nation, supports adults who have lived with disability and homelessness.
Grow Our Own Specialists through Education (GOOSE) addresses the shortage of rehabilitation health-care professionals in northern Manitoba and the underrepresentation of Indigenous people in rehab careers. Read more
Dr. Kellie Thiessen, Dr. Hope Anderson and Dr. Josée Lavoie
Three new leaders take the helm
Dr. Kellie Thiessen – an associate professor, midwife clinician-scientist and registered nurse – was appointed dean of the College of Nursing on Feb. 1. She previously led the development of UM’s midwifery program and directed it from 2015 to 2023. Read more
On July 1, Dr. Hope Anderson became dean of the College of Pharmacy. A professor and principal investigator with the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine at St. Boniface Hospital, Anderson brings expertise in cardiovascular health and academic leadership. Read more
As of Aug. 1, Dr. Josée Lavoie leads the new College of Community and Global Health as its inaugural dean. A professor of community health sciences, she directed Ongomiizwin Research – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing from 2014 to 2023. Read more
Drs. Henry Friesen and Estelle Simons
Remembering health pioneers
The Rady community paid tribute to two influential figures from the Max Rady College of Medicine.
Dr. Henry Friesen, a UM medical alum and visionary leader, died April 30 at age 90. His work led to the founding of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research 25 years ago. Read more
Professor emerita Dr. Estelle Simons died Nov. 5 at age 80. A pioneer in pediatric allergy research, she was renowned for her groundbreaking research on allergic diseases. Read more
Mpox virus
Mpox on the move
Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, Canada Research Chair in molecular pathogenesis of emerging viruses and associate professor at the Max Rady College of Medicine, is part of an international team tracking the rapid spread of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The research team had a study featured on the cover of the prestigious journal The Lancet. It found that mpox has now spread to nearly every region of the DRC, with cases rising from 18 provinces in 2010 to 24 provinces in 2023. Read more
(From left to right) Terry Duguid, Dr. Anastasia Kelekis-Cholakis and Dr. Doug Eyolfson
$6.1M for better access to dental care
The Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry received more than $6.1 million in federal funding to improve access to care for marginalized Manitobans and give students experience in caring for underserved populations.
The funding supports four UM projects through Health Canada’s Oral Health Access Fund, which supports initiatives that reduce barriers to care for groups including children, Indigenous Peoples, newcomers and seniors. Read more
Dr. Sabine Mai gives a tour of the Nano and Cell Imaging Facility during its grand opening.
New home for Nano and Cell Imaging Facility
The Rady Faculty’s Nano and Cell Imaging Facility (NCIF) has a new home on the Bannatyne campus.
After three years of planning and renovations, the facility moved from CancerCare Manitoba to the department of physiology and pathophysiology on the fourth floor of the Basic Medical Sciences Building.
NCIF is open to students, faculty and researchers from across Canada and beyond. Read more
Elder Charlotte Nolin
Honouring transgender lives
More than 60 people attended the first Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony held on the Bannatyne campus.
The day is observed on Nov. 20 to remember transgender people who have been lost to transphobic violence, suicide and other violent deaths. Speakers called for safety for all trans people.
Elder Charlotte Nolin, a two-spirit Elder-in-residence at Ongomiizwin, urged those in attendance to speak out when they witness discrimination toward trans people. Read more
Md. Abdul Aziz, Deanne Nixie Miao and Barrett Monchka.
Vanier Scholars from Rady Faculty
Three of the four UM PhD students awarded Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships in 2025 – each worth $150,000 over three years – hail from the Rady Faculty.
Md. Abdul Aziz, College of Pharmacy, is studying patterns of antidepressant use in Manitoba, and why some patients discontinue treatment. Read more
Deanne Nixie Miao, Max Rady College of Medicine, is researching the genetics of permanent hearing loss caused by cisplatin, a common cancer drug. Read more
Barrett Monchka, College of Community and Global Health, is improving data-linkage techniques to enhance research reliability, efficiency and privacy. Read more
Nitesh Sanghai
New hope for ALS patients
Nitesh Sanghai, a PhD candidate in the College of Pharmacy, and his supervisor, Dr. Geoffrey Tranmer, co-invented a promising new drug candidate for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), earning Sanghai the Mitacs Innovation Award.
The drug, borsantrazole, offers an improved version of edaravone, one of the few treatments currently available in North America to slow ALS progression.
Still in pre-clinical testing, borsantrazole has shown strong safety and efficacy in lab mice engineered to mimic the disease. Read more
Dr. Tamara Taillieu will study population data to understand the effects of legalization on vulnerable children and youth in Manitoba.
Funding boost for early-career researchers
Five assistant professors from the Rady Faculty were among 24 recipients of nearly $1.8 million in New Investigator Operating Grants from Research Manitoba.
The program supports researchers within four years of their first academic appointment, providing up to two years of funding to help establish research programs, build collaborations and generate results for future national-level grants. Read more