Congratulations to our Canadian sisters as we celebrate 100 years of P.E.O. in Canada—and congratulations as well to the many Canadian chapters that have successfully sponsored outstanding young women from Canada for the P.E.O. Scholar Awards. In the 20 years the Scholar Awards have been in existence, Canadian chapters have successfully nominated 58 Scholars. In this article we feature three of these young women, and share with you how they are faring on their “Journeys to Remarkable.”
Bonnie completed her medical degree in 2004 and also received her bachelor of medicine degree (research focus) at the same time. While a medical student, she did an elective block in Nairobi, Kenya, working primarily with AIDS patients; she did another block in China, studying herbal medicine and acupuncture; she did her family medicine block in Nunavit, Canada, where she saw a lot of TB patients.
Since receiving her medical degree in 2004, Bonnie has completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Calgary, Alberta; a fellowship in infectious diseases, including a diploma of tropical medicine and hygiene through a Gorgas course in Lima, Peru; and a master of science in epidemiology from the London (England) School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
As of December 2010, Bonnie is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine/Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary. She is currently treating general infectious diseases at Foothills Medical Center and Peter Lougheed Center hospitals and providing HIV care at the Southern Alberta Clinic. She is also setting up a new clinic within the Calgary Health Region that specializes in post-travel/tropical diseases.
When she has time, Bonnie continues her long distance running, snow boarding, kayaking, mountain climbing, camping and traveling to warmer climes! She took up surfing and Salsa dancing in Peru, and she has traveled on her own to Morocco, India and Nepal, all areas that are of great medical interest.
Bonnie’s mother Pat is a P.E.O, and past provincial president of Manitoba.
Michele started her Ph.D. in 2005, after having worked as a clinical veterinarian for five years. She began her work as a breast cancer researcher at the BC Cancer Agency, working on a project that investigates the immune response to breast cancer. These studies led to three publications in peer-reviewed journals and numerous speaking engagements. She also attended a number of national and international conferences during her Ph.D. studies, including Huntington Beach, California, Seattle, Washington, Toronto, Ontario and Amsterdam,
The Netherlands.
Upon completing her Ph.D. in 2010, Michele took a position with the University of Victoria as an Associate Professor, where she is continuing her research into breast cancer, and also filling a role as the Veterinary Director providing oversight for biomedical
and field-based research.
In her spare time Michele enjoys reading, hiking, bike riding and spending time with her faithful canine companion, Jack.
In 2009, Michele became a charter member of Chapter BO in Victoria, British Columbia, serving as guard, as well as chairing the technology and projects committees. For the past two years, she has also served as provincial chairman for ELF, which she says has been a great learning experience, especially for a brand new P.E.O.
When Alicia received her Scholar Award in 2006, she was a Ph.D. student in biochemistry at the University of Victoria investigating mechanisms on how bacteria use carbohydrates in the human body and the role they play in bacterial infections.
She received her Ph.D. in 2008 and began a postdoctoral research position in the York Structural Biology Laboratory at the University of York in England working on characterizing enzymes that are active on carbohydrates that are of medical importance. “We get clues into how to treat infections and certain diseases like cancers by looking at the structure of enzymes that are active on carbohydrates which can then be used to develop new drugs for treatment.”
In March 2011 Alicia began a new position at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, to research new methods for visualizing human and bacterial cells at very high magnification to see how they interact in their native environment. “My future career goals are to begin my own research lab where I can combine all of the techniques I have learned. So far the results are exciting.”
In her spare time, Alicia enjoys spending time with her husband and 3-year-old daughter and cycling around Holland.
In 2007 Alicia was given the gift of P.E.O., being initiated into her sponsoring chapter, BG, Sidney, British Columbia.
