Awards | Bachelor of Health Sciences

The Bachelor of Health Sciences program has established a number of awards to recognize the extraordinary achievements and contributions of BHSc students during their time at Queen's. These awards will be given out to students at the BHSc convocation celebration (if the student is graduating) or in September (if the student is returning).

Nominations are required for three of these awards: the Bachelor of Health Sciences Community Stewardship Award, the Bachelor of Health Sciences Award for Leadership, and the Award for Excellence in Health Sciences Research.

Nominations for 2025 are now closed. Winners will be notified in June, prior to the BHSc convocation ceremony.

Bachelor of Health Sciences Award for Leadership

Awarded to the student(s) who demonstrates exemplary leadership to peers throughout their time as a Queen’s BHSc student.

Eligibility: Minimum GPA of 2.7. Students in all years of study are eligible for this award. Nominees may be a single student or a group of students. More than one student or student group may win this award. A completed nomination form must be received, including an uploaded nomination letter. The nomination for the Leadership Award can be made by the nominated student*, a peer, a staff or faculty member at Queen’s, or someone affiliated with a community partner.

*Students nominating themselves must include the name and contact information of a verifier.

Bachelor of Health Sciences Award for Leadership Rubric

2023 Award Winners

Jin Hyuk Byun

Jiale Xie

2024 Award Winners

Sadia Akbar

Sara Pollanen

2025 Award Winners

Oreoluwapo Maxwell is described as “the kind of leader who brings people together, identifies what needs to be done, and acts – always with empathy, purpose, and community at the core.” As a QSuccess Senior Mentor, the Co-President and Co-Founder of Queen’s Cancer Kids First, the Equity and Diversity Policy Coordinator with Queen’s Health Outreach, co-lead of the Mentorship Guide Development Working Group in the QHS EDIIA team, and a Residence Don, Ore clearly demonstrates what it means to spend meaningful time leading in a way that her nominator Dr. Renwick described as both broad and purposeful.

Aditya Lumb stands out as a leader through his work with the University Health Network and as the co-founder of LabPath, a student-led initiative that bridges the gap in research access for undergraduates. Additionally, he is the Vice-President of the Queen’s chapter of the Little Saint Nick Foundation, delivering personalized gift bags to children in pediatric care at the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. In the nomination letter, Dr. Nissim, a Psychologist with the University Health Network states that “what stands out most about Aditya is not just what he does – it’s how he leads. He brings people together, creates space for diverse voices, and leads with a sense of shared purpose”

Bachelor of Health Sciences Community Stewardship Award

Awarded to the Bachelor of Health Sciences student(s) who has demonstrated significant and meaningful contribution to the Queen’s and/or their community.

Eligibility: Minimum GPA of 2.7. Students in all years of study are eligible for this award. Nominees may be a single student or a group of students. More than one student or student group may win this award. A completed nomination form must be received, including an uploaded nomination letter. The nomination for this award can be made by the nominated student*, a peer, a staff or faculty member at Queen’s, or someone affiliated with a community partner.

*Students nominating themselves must include the name and contact information of a verifier.

Bachelor of Health Sciences Community Stewardship Award Rubric

2023 Award Winners

Ravnoor Kang

Ervis Musa

Gurdit Sood

2024 Award Winners

Aidan Gangji

Wendy Li

Sumaya Mehelay

2025 Award Winners

Evan Sharma has made a profound impact on his local, national, and international community raising over $100,000 for varying charitable causes with his art. In response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s nutrition and education in Kenya, he partnered with 25 international artists to raise enough funds for 140,000 meals distributed through the charity Flying Kites. More recently, he’s illustrated a children’s book designed to encourage young readers to follow their dreams, with all proceeds going to children’s charities. As noted by his nominator, Leila de Bruyne from Flying Kites, “his contributions are truly exceptional – His compassion, creativity, and commitment to community building sets him apart.”

Shania Sheth has made numerous contributions to the Queen’s community. As the EDIIA Commissioner for the HSS, Shania worked to identify and address gaps with meaningful initiatives, including a variety of events that celebrate diverse backgrounds as well as the management of the HSS EDIIA Grants, which provide support for community-led initiatives. As founder of ASPIRE, she supports numerous Queen’s Health Sciences students looking for guidance in attaining research opportunities in an equitable fashion. Her nomination letter highlighted her “incredible combination of qualities, skills and character that make her a source of inspiration to everyone around her.”

Award for Excellence in Health Sciences Research

Awarded to the student(s) who went above and beyond on their Health Sciences Research courses, demonstrating significant growth and contribution to the supervisor’s research program.

Eligibility: Minimum GPA of 2.7. Only students who have completed 9.0 units or more of HSCI 59X and/or ANAT 599 or LISC 596 research courses are eligible for this award. A completed nomination form must be received, including an uploaded nomination letter. The nomination for the Research Award must be signed by the nominee’s faculty research supervisor, but other members of a research group can contribute to the nomination.

Award for Excellence in Health Sciences Research Rubric

2023 Award Winners

Marco Buttigieg

2024 Award Winners

Dharmayu Desai

Hannah McMaster

2025 Award Winner

Trisha Singh worked in the Adams laboratory as an undergraduate student for 2 years and was involved in numerous projects within the lab. Her 4th year research was focused on identifying a problem with an ELISA meant to measure fetuin-A, a protein linked to chronic kidney disease and vascular calcification, and devising innovative solutions to advance the methods critical to the lab’s research goals. As noted by Dr. Adams in his nomination letter, Trisha “truly leads by example, innovates consistently, inspires others, and produces the highest-level research. Her contributions to our research have been invaluable, and her potential for future breakthroughs is very high.”

Learning Track Excellence Award

Awarded to the graduating student(s) formally registered in a learning track who achieved academic excellence in courses counting towards the track. A minimum of one award for each learning track will be awarded.

Eligibility: Minimum GPA of 2.7; must be a graduating student; formally registered in a learning track

No nomination required.

2023 Award Winners

Anatomical and Physiological Basis of Health and Disease

Tai Hunter

Stefan Petrovic

Bethany Smethurst

Applied Research Methods in Health Sciences

Cameron Amber Yung

Braeden Levac

Tali Katz

Iris Wang

Mina Jordanides

Stefan Petrovic

Sophie llic

Bethany Smethurst

Nicole Coman

Mireille Messih

Ryunosuke Ohno

Emily Yeung

Gavin Hughes

Ava Eden Penry

Sophia Bakyta

Jin Hyuk Byun

Wesley Geerlinks

Ervis Musa

Global and Population Health

Tali Katz

Mina Jordanides

Bethany Smethurst

Nicole Coman

Mireille Messih

Ava Eden Penry

Sophia Bakyta

Praise Christi

Lynne Altow

Cameron Amber Yung

Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation

Carolyn Graham

Winston Huang

Ava Eden Penry

Molecular Basis of Biology

Brian Shkabari

Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutics

Mina Jordanides

Winston Huang

Physiological Basis of Health and Disease

Brianna Plater

2024 Award Winners

Anatomic Basis of Health and Disease

Raeann Benjamin

Jacki Oliver

Anatomical and Physiological Basis of Health and Disease

Sarah Chapman

Applied Research Methods in Health Sciences

Abirami Sivakumar

Aikam Rai

Alaina Dhawan

Alex Choe

Andrew Dam

Calvin Sun

Conrad Pietrzak

Danial Vagharfard

Daniel Jeyaraj

Ella Jones

Eric Wen

Hannah Bryan

Henry Liu

Kierra O'Connor

Mariane Ratsimor

Marshall Barker

Nicholas Chronis

Nicolas Jost

Obaida Al-Naib

Raeann Benjamin

Simran Joneja

Sinan Kaka

Suran Kunasegar

Tate Erikson

Yang Ran Cheng

Global and Population Health

Christine Ha

Danial Vagharfard

Dharmayu Desai

Eve Harrison

Faye Ajmera

Gabriella Moraes Rae

Gewn Van Duinen

Hannah Bryan

Izzah Wahab

Jasleen Grewal

Joelle Peresin

Meghan Watson

Natalie Domingo

Nicholas Chronis

Reyana Jayawardena

Sadia Akbar

Samanthan Selvanayagam

Samsoor Akberzai

Sarah Chen

Simran Joneja

Suren Kunasegar

Veda Sharpe

Yang Ran Cheng

Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation

Alecco Philippi

Katie Keller

Mergie Pigott

Stephen Adam Windsor

Molecular Basis of Biology

Conrad Pietrzak

Mariane Ratsimor

Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutics

Adam Quenneville

Alaina Dhawan

Eve Justason

Gwen Van Duinen

Katie Keller

Natalee Schors

Nolan Dawson

Samantha Selvanayagam

Sarah Chapman

Physiological Basis of Health and Disease

Samantha Selvanayagam

Sawsan Haider

Suzanne Li

Medal in Health Sciences

Awarded by the University to the graduating candidate who has demonstrated academic excellence in an honours degree who is deemed to have achieved the highest standing in the program.

No nomination required.