OTTAWA, Aug. 5, 2014 /CNW/ - The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) will present the 2014 CMA Medal of Honour to medical bioethicist Juliet Guichon of Calgary in recognition of her commitment to citizen engagement.
"Juliet Guichon's innovative thinking and leadership have resulted in effective engagement that eliminates health disparities, promotes health and saves lives," said Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti, CMA President. "She is truly deserving of the CMA Medal of Honour which recognizes personal contributions to the advancement of medical research and education."
"I was surprised and humbled to receive this award especially because such remarkable people as Roméo Dallaire, Peter Lougheed and Rick Hansen are previous recipients," said Juliet Guichon. "It is a great privilege to help professionals, elected officials and institutions identify children's best interests and work together to achieve them."
A graduate of Yale University, she earned two law degrees at Oxford University and a doctoral degree in law at the University of Toronto. After teaching law at the University of Brussels, she and her family relocated to her home town of Calgary. Professor Guichon has authored several academic articles, presented at academic conferences, and produced a book, The Right to Know One's Origins: The Best Interests of Children of Assisted Human Reproduction. She has been an assistant professor of law and ethics at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary since 2012.
Guichon is a frequent contributor to public debate on health and ethics issues. She was invited by the Standing Committees on Health of both the House of Commons and the Senate to testify on public hearings on Canada's Assisted Human Reproduction Act.
She founded two child health advocacy groups that convinced 12 Canadian school boards to reverse their decisions to ban in-school administration of the HPV vaccine.
She is the recipient of the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine's Social Accountability Award, the Canadian Public Health Association's National Public Health Hero Award, as well as two awards from the University of Calgary Medical Student Association.
The CMA Medal of Honour will be presented to Juliet Guichon at a ceremony at the Westin Ottawa on Aug. 20, during the CMA's 147th annual general meeting.
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is the national voice of Canadian physicians. Founded in 1867, the CMA is a voluntary professional organization representing more than 80,000 of Canada's physicians and comprising 12 provincial and territorial medical associations and 60 national medical organizations. CMA's mission is to serve and unite the physicians of Canada and be the national advocate, in partnership with the people of Canada, for the highest standards of health and health care.
SOURCE: Canadian Medical Association
Dominique Jolicoeur, Communications Officer, Tel.: 613-731-8610 or 800-663-7336 ext. 2038, Cell: 613-809-5669, [email protected]
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