CAPO Award of Excellence Descriptions and Nomination Procedures

NOMINATIONS CLOSED FOR 2023

1. Nomination Process

To nominate a CAPO member for one of these Awards of Excellence, please see below:

• Nominators do not need to be CAPO members. It is the responsibility of the nominators to obtain permission from the nominee to put their name forward for the award.

• Application for the award will consist of:

• • a curriculum vitae or resume of the nominee,

  • a letter of nomination from the primary nominator summarizing the nomination submission,

  • one letter of reference from individuals familiar with the nominee’s contributions. The letter of nomination will specifically state why the nominee is deserving of the award by providing evidence for how the individual has contributed to the enhancement of psychosocial oncology in Canada, through their scientific and research endeavors, clinical practice, or education or policy (depending on award they are being nominated for).

• Complete nomination packages must be submitted ONLINE (will open March 1) to the Chair(s) of the Awards Committee (c/o the CAPO office) by no later than April 28, 2023. Submit online using the following links pending which Excellence award you are submitting a nomination for: SUBMISSIONS CLOSED FOR 2023

• Nominations and supporting documentation can be submitted in either French or English.

• In the event of multiple nominees, the Awards Committee will invite members of the CAPO Board (barring those with conflicts of interest) to vote in order to attain a recipient of the award. In the event of a tie vote, the last three CAPO past presidents, excluding the immediate past president (who are clear of any conflict of interest) will review the tied nominations and vote amongst themselves to select a winner.

• If no suitable recipients are nominated, no award will be given.

• There is no monetary value to these awards.

2. CAPO Award for Clinical Excellence

This award shall be presented by the Awards Committee and the Board of Directors of the association to a CAPO member in recognition of outstanding clinical contributions to the field of psychosocial oncology in Canada.

1. The recipient will have made his or her contributions as a practitioner in applied psychosocial work in oncology;

2. Nominees must be registered or licensed to practice in their field, and have been practicing in the field of psychosocial oncology for a minimum of 5 years;

3. Nominees must demonstrate outstanding clinical contributions to psychosocial oncology. The award focuses on the distinctive contribution made in providing or developing services to patients and families; and/or in clinical supervision of others.

4. Award recipients must register and attend the annual CAPO conference (in person or virtually) in order to be eligible.

Innovation and sustained successful clinical service should be what distinguishes the recipient of this award.

The 2022 CAPO Award recipient for Clinical Excellence is Dr. Madeline Li

Madeline Li MD PhD is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and a cancer psychiatrist and Lead of Psychosocial Oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada. In addition to clinical practice in cancer psychiatry, she conducts collaborative research in the areas of psychoneuroimmunology and psychosocial oncology.  She has expertise in end of life care, emotional distress screening and management of mood disorders in cancer. She led the development of the Distress Assessment and Response Tool (DART) program at Princess Margaret and the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) service at the University Health Network in Toronto, and is the scientific lead for the Canadian MAiD Curriculum Development Project whose mandate is to train healthcare professional across Canada in the standardized and safe practice of MAiD.

Past Award of Clinical Excellence recipients:

• 2017 Recipient: Dr. Steven Simpson (BC)

• 2016 Recipient: Sarah Sample (BC)

• 2015 Recipient: Sheila Damore-Petingola (ON)

• 2014 Recipient: Dr. Marc Hamel (QC)

• 2012 Recipient: Dr. Michael Speca (AB)

• 2011 Recipient: Dr. Maru Barrera (ON)

• 2010 Recipient: Dr. John Robinson (AB)

3. CAPO Award of Education Excellence

This award shall be made to recognize a CAPO member who, in the opinion of the Awards Committee and the Board of Directors of the association, have made a significant contribution to education and training in psychosocial oncology in Canada. The recipient of this award must meet the following criteria:

1. Whose influence on psychosocial education and training has been exercised through excellence and/or leadership as a teacher;

2. Whose work as a teacher, supervisor and/or administrator has influenced the methods and settings utilised in education and training, in ways of significant benefit to psychosocial oncology;

3. Whose scholarship or accomplishments in education and/or training has brought about changes or enhanced the knowledge base in these areas.

4. Award recipients must register and attend the annual CAPO conference (in person or virtually) in order to be eligible.

In whatever form the individual’s contributions are regarded as distinguished, the impact of the work shall have been on education and training in psychosocial oncology in Canada.

The 2022 CAPO Award Recipient for Education Excellence is Dr. Linda Carlson

Dr. Linda Carlson holds the Enbridge Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology, is Full Professor in Psychosocial Oncology in the Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology. She is the Director of Research and works as a Clinical Psychologist at the Department of Psychosocial Resources at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre (TBCC), where she has worked since 1997. She also holds a CIHR SPOR-funded mentorship chair in innovative clinical trials, which funds the TRACTION program (Training in Research And Clinical Trials in Integrative Oncology), supporting a multidisciplinary group of University of Calgary fellows studying Integrative Oncology. She is also a fellow of the Society for Behavioral Medicine and the Mind and Life Institute, is the President of the Society for Integrative Oncology, and is Co-Editor-in-Chief for the official International Psycho-Oncology Society journal: The Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice.

Dr. Carlson's research in Psychosocial Oncology, Integrative Oncology and Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery has been published in many high-impact journals and book chapters, and she published a patient book in 2011 with Michael Speca entitled: Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery: A step-by-step MBSR approach to help you cope with treatment and reclaim your life, in addition to a professional training manual in 2009 (2nd Edition 2017) with Shauna Shapiro entitled The Art and Science of Mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions. She has published over 200 research papers and book chapters, holds several millions of dollars in grant funding and is regularly invited to present her work at international conferences, most recently in Netherlands, Switzerland, China, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Israel and all across Canada and the USA. She presented a TEDx talk called Mindfulness for Personal and Collective Evolution in 2016, you can find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgZd5GvZ5Qs

Past Award of Education Excellence recipients:

• 2021 Recipient: Dr.Guy Pelletier (AB)

• 2018 Recipient: Andrew G. Matthew (ON)

• 2017 Recipient: Joan Hamilton (NS)

• 2014 Recipient: Dr. Josée Savard (QC)

• 2013 Recipient: Susan Blacker (ON)

• 2012 Recipient: Dr. Doris Howell (ON)

• 2011 Recipient: Dr. Deborah McLeod (NS)

• 2010 Recipient: Dr. Carmen Loiselle (QC)

4. CAPO Award for Research Excellence

This award supported by CAPO shall be made to recognize a member who, in the opinion of the Awards Committee and the Board of Directors of the association, has made a significant research contribution to Psychosocial Oncology. The recipient of this award must meet the following criteria:

1. Whose research has substantially enhanced the knowledge base of psychosocial oncology;

2. Whose research demonstrates originality and innovative contributions to the field, or to the research method;

3. Whose research has been supported by national research funding agencies, and has been frequently published in peer-reviewed journals;

4. Who demonstrates evidence of dissemination at national and/or international conferences.

5. The nomination will be strengthened by one or more of the following:

6. The recipient of the award has

   • served on provincial, national, or international research committees;

   • served as a grants reviewer and/or panel chair for provincial and national research funding agencies;

   • served as a peer reviewer of research manuscripts for oncology journals; and

   • assisted in the organization of research conferences by serving as a conference chair, member of the scientific committee, and/or abstract reviewer.

   • Award recipients must register and attend the annual CAPO conference (in person or virtually) in order to be eligible.

The 2022 CAPO Award Recipient for Research Excellence is Dr. Fiona Schulte

Dr. Fiona Schulte is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology, Division of Psychosocial Oncology in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. She is also a registered psychologist in the Hematology, Oncology and Transplant Program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. During her career, Dr. Schulte has been awarded $8,871,232 in operating funds as a Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI (e.g., CIHR, Canadian Cancer Society) and has published more than 95 papers in highly regarded journals within the field (e.g., Journal of Clinical Oncology, IF 44.54). Her major contributions have come in three key areas: 1) understanding symptom burden among survivors of childhood cancer; 2) examination of social outcomes in youth with cancer as a result of disease and/or treatment; and 3) guideline development for the long-term follow-up of survivors of childhood cancer. In recognition of her exceptional contributions to the field of psychosocial oncology, she received the International Social of Pediatric Oncology Young Investigator Award and the International Psycho-Oncology Society Hiroomi Kiwano New Investigator Award. Dr. Schulte is engaged in significant leadership roles. She served as president of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology from 2019-2021 and serves as the Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group Long-Term Follow-Up Guidelines Psychosocial Task Force and co-chair of the International Guidelines Harmonization Group psychosocial task force.

Past Award of Research Excellence recipients:

• 2021 Recipient: Dr. Shane Sinclair (AB)

• 2020 Recipient: Dr. Jennifer Jones (ON)

• 2019 Recipient: Dr. S. Nicole Culos-Reed (AB)

• 2018 Recipient: Dr. Doris Howell (ON)

• 2017 Recipient: Dr. Gary Rodin (ON)

• 2015 Recipient: Dr. John Oliffe (BC)

• 2014 Recipient: Dr. Tom Hack (MB)

• 2013 Recipient: Dr. Keith Wilson (ON)

• 2012 Recipient: Dr. Kerry Courneya (AB)

• 2011 Recipient: Dr. Elizabeth Maunsell (QC)

• 2010 Recipient: Dr. Linda Carlson (AB)