Meet the 2024 Winner: Sarah Svenningsen PhD
Dr Sarah Svenningsen is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Translational Pulmonary Imaging and Assistant Professor of Medicine (Division of Respirology) at McMaster University. She is an Affiliate Scientist of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health and The Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton. She completed her PhD in Medical Biophysics at Western University and then went on to McMaster University where she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in complex airways disease.
She serves as the Scientific Lead of the Advanced Lung Imaging Research Program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and also holds the position of McMaster Site Lead for the Xe MRI Clinical Trials Consortium. Her research focuses on the development and application of novel pulmonary CT and MRI measurements to better understand, evaluate, and manage complex airways diseases such as asthma and COPD. Dr. Svenningsen has authored over 70 publications in the fields of pulmonary medicine and medical imaging and has an h-index of 29 (>3000 citations). She was a CIHR Banting Post-doctoral Fellow (2018-2020) and the recipient of the 2017 Charles Polanyi Prize in Physiology/Medicine.
Award Description
This award honors the life of the late Ann Woolcock, M.B.B.S., F.R.A.C.P., A.O., of Sydney University. Dr. Woolcock was an international leader in the field of asthma in areas of epidemiology, physiology and medicine. The eligibility criteria for this award have been designed to reflect Dr. Woolcock's priorities during her long, prolific career. The award is intended for all areas of research on obstructive airway disease. It is further intended as recognition for overall accomplishment and future promise by a junior investigator. Nomination of diverse candidates is encouraged.
The award consists of a certificate and an honorarium, which will be presented at the ATS International Conference. RSF gratefully acknowledges GlaxoSmithKline and the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand for their support of this award.
Criteria:
- Junior investigator at the rank of postdoctoral or medical fellow, assistant professor or equivalent
- Normally RSF Assembly membership, but suitable candidates from other ATS Assemblies will be considered
- More than one first-authored paper in a well-respected journal
- Early career accomplishments and future promise
- Research efforts in broad area of obstructive airway disease, which may include work at the basic, clinical, epidemiological or other levels
- Nominee’s current curriculum vitae including a list of nominee’s publications
- Nominator’s letter of recommendation
Nomination letter should describe nominee's:
- Research contributions in broad area of obstructive airway disease
- Independence or future potential for independence
- Involvement in ATS, including any involvement in RSF Assembly
- Service to the broader scientific or medical community, if applicable
- Mentorship or teaching activities
View Previous Award Recipients
2023 - Simon D. Pouwels, PhD (University Medical Center Groningen in The Netherlands)
2022 - Laura Walkup, PhD (University of Cincinnati)
2021 - Kimberley Wang, PhD. (The University of Western Australia)
2020 - Corrine Kliment, MD, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh)
2019 - Matthew Drake, MD (Oregon Health and Science University)
2018 - David Chapman, BSc, Ph.D. (Royal North Shore Hospital)
2017 - Pawan Sharma, Ph.D. (University of Technology)
2016 - Amir A. Zeki, MD (University of California, Davis)
2015 - Jeremy Alexander Hirota, BSc, Ph.D. (University of British Columbia)
2014 - Jin-Ah Park, Ph.D. (Harvard School of Public Health)
2013 - Cindy Thamrin, Ph.D. (Woolcock Institute of Medical Research)
2012 - Tillie-Louise Hackett, Ph.D., BS (St Pauls Hospital)
2011 - Graeme R. Zosky, Ph.D. (Telethon Institute for Child Health Research)
2010 - Reinoud Gosens, Ph.D. (University of Groningen)
2009 - Deepak Deshpande, D.V.M., Ph.D. (University of Maryland Baltimore)
2008 - David W Kaczka, MD, Ph.D. (John Hopkins Hospital)
2007 - Janette Burgess, Ph.D. (University of Sydney)
2006 - Steven An, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University)
2005 - Parameswaran Krishnan Nair, MD, Ph.D. (McMaster University)
2004 - Julia K.L. Walker, Ph.D. (Duke University)
2003 - John Fuller Hunt, MD (University of Virginia)
2002 - Debra Turner, Ph.D. (University of Western Australia)
