The RID Program team would like to offer our sincerest congratulations to Dr. Mel Krajden O.B.C., MD, FRCPC, a longtime and frequent collaborator of the RID Program, who has been awarded the John G. FitzGerald Award from the Canadian Association for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (CACMID)! This award, which is named after Dr. John G. Fitzgerald, one of the preeminent figures in the field of medical microbiology in Canada, is awarded each year by CACMID to a Canadian microbiologist who through their contributions in academia, education and/or clinical practice has significantly advanced the field of medical microbiology. Dr. Krajden’s exemplary and extensive academic, educational and professional background was highlighted as reasoning for him receiving this award including his previous positions as the Medical Director of the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and Medical Head of Hepatitis at the BCCDC, as well as his current positions as both Microbiologist – Special Projects for the BCCDC and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine with UBC. Additionally, his pivotal roles in the $6.8M CIHR-Funded “FOCAL Trial”, which was studying the validity of primary HPV screening as a replacement for Pap testing and/or HPV+Pap co-testing, the Canadian Hepatitis C Network (CanHepC) project, as well as his other research (HIV, HPV, COVID-19, etc.) and expansive publication history (360+ peer-reviewed publications) were all highlighted in the reasoning for his selection as well. Dr. Krajden has been instrumental in the success of numerous RID Program projects including the NOVA-HIV Project, COVERED Project and its associated Immune Sub-Study, as well as the Canadian Population Serological Survey Utilizing Antenatal Serum Samples Project. Congratulations again to Dr. Krajden on this well-deserved award! To read more on this award and the reasoning behind Dr. Krajden’s selection, click here!
