Monthly Award Summaries

January 2026 Award Winners

By karnottJanuary 30, 2026No Comments

Michael Murphy, Marie Johns, Martin Hirst , Abishek Wadhwa, and Paul Moore

Pictured left to right: Dr. Michael Murphy, Marie Johns, Dr. Martin Hirst , Abishek Wadhwa, and Dr. Paul Moore

We’re starting 2026 off right with awards, accolades, grants, and scholarships to propel the Vancouver community into the new year. This month, we’re highlighting two spectacular PhD students at UBC’s Michael Smith Laboratories: Marie Johns and Abishek Wadhwa. They have received the 2025-26 Zymeworks Fellowships in Advanced Protein Therapeutics, which is a one-year fellowship of $20,000 to support health science research that focuses on immune-based treatments for disease. Johns’ work in the Jefferies lab is aimed at uncovering unexpected treatment options for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Wadhwa’s work in the Harder lab is looking into the use of lipid nanoparticles to deliver mRNA-based therapeutics for cancer.

See all award winners for January 2026 below.

Grants

Winner

Grant

Link to Article

Ann Marie Craig

Dr. Ann Marie Craig

2025 CLEAR Foundation Operating Grant

Anna Blakney

Dr. Anna Blakney

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health Engineering of Immune Cells Inside the Body Program

Florian Kuchenbauer

Dr. Florian Kuchenbauer

Cancer Research Society 2025 Operating Grant

Peter Stirling

Dr. Peter Stirling

Cancer Research Society 2025 Operating Grant

Awards

Winner

Award

Link to Article

Adele Diamond

Dr. Adele Diamond

Officer of the Order of Canada

Mr. Akash Manes

Canadian Association for Medical Education Rising Star – Certificate of Excellence

Christopher Morrow

Dr. Christopher Morrow

Canadian Association for Medical Education Certificate of Merit

Danielle Lynch

Dr. Danielle Lynch

Canadian Association for Medical Education Rising Star – Certificate of Excellence

Janice Eng

Dr. Janice Eng

Officer of the Order of Canada

Judy Illes

Dr. Judy Illes

Officer of the Order of Canada

Lucas Streith

Dr. Lucas Streith

Canadian Association for Medical Education Rising Star – Certificate of Excellence

Magdalena Janus

Dr. Magdalena Janus

Sunny Hill BC Leadership Chair in Child Development

Dr. Trudy Nasmith

Canadian Association for Medical Education Certificate of Merit

Vincent Wong

Dr. Vincent Wong

Canadian Association for Medical Education Certificate of Merit

Fellowships

Winner

Fellowship

Link to Article

Dr. Rafailia Beta

Dr. Rafailia Beta
Lallous Lab

2026 Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada Grant-in-Aid Award

Scholarships

Winner

Scholarship

Abishek Wadhwa

Abishek Wadhwa
Harder Lab

2025-26 Zymeworks Fellowships in Advanced Protein Therapeutics

Andrew Murtha

Andrew Murtha
Wyatt Lab

2026 Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada Grant-in-Aid Award

Christopher Dusek
Ong Lab

2026 Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada Grant-in-Aid Award

Ishana Lodina

Ishana Lodina
Zoubeidi Lab

2026 Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada Grant-in-Aid Award

Marie Johns

Marie Johns
Jefferies Lab

2025-26 Zymeworks Fellowships in Advanced Protein Therapeutics

Vahid Yekehfallah

Vahid Yekehfallah
Nappi Lab

2026 Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada Grant-in-Aid Award