University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry

The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at University of Alberta is located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1913, it is one of the oldest medical schools in Western Canada^[1] and is composed of 20 departments, two stand-alone divisions, 10 research groups, and 24 research centers and institutes.^[2] Educational, clinical and research activities are conducted in 28 buildings^[3] on or near the University of Alberta north campus.

The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry is home to more than 2,000 support staff and 2,600 tenure-track and clinical educators,^[4] including six National 3M Teaching Fellows,^[5] Canada’s most prestigious teaching award for post-secondary instructors. According to an economic impact report conducted in 2013, the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry generated approximately $2 billion to the Alberta economy in 2012.^[6]

Education

The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry offers four fully accredited undergraduate programs: doctor of medicine,^[7] doctor of dentistry,^[8] bachelor of science in medical laboratory science,^[9] and a diploma or bachelor of science in dental hygiene.^[10] The bachelor of science in radiation therapy, established in 2013, will undergo accreditation review in fall 2016.^[11] It also offers more than 50 residency programs fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada^[12] and 20 graduate programs^[13] centered in the health sciences.

The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry has more than 2,600 learners^[14] in its undergraduate, graduate, residency, and postdoctoral education programs and has graduated nearly 14,000 health professionals and researchers.^[15]

Faculty

• James Collip – played a role in the development of insulin
• Ban Tsui – developed the Tsui Test, a simple protocol using a low current electrical stimulation test to confirm catheter location in the epidural space during procedures.
• John Carter Callaghan – Performed first open-heart surgery in Canada in 1956.
• Henry Shumizu – led the team of surgeons to perform Canada’s first successful limb replantation in 1978 and co-founder of Western Canada’s first burn treatment center
• Lorne Tyrrell – created the first drug treatment of hepatitis B and 2015 Killiam Prize recipient. Former dean (1994-2004) and member of the Order of Canada.
• Ray Rajotte – international diabetes leader, renown for work related to the Edmonton Protocol islet transplantation procedure
• James Shapiro – member of the team that pioneered the Edmonton Protocol and continues to work to improve islet transplants
• Richard Fedorak – internationally renowned gastroenterologist specializing in inflammatory bowel disease. Current interim dean of the faculty (2015).
• Michael Houghton – co-discoverer of the hepatitis C virus
• Tak Wah Mak – first to identify and clone T-cell receptor genes
• Joseph B. Martin (MD ’62) – member of the team that discovered a biomarker that led to locating the gene associated with Huntington's disease.
• Jonathan White – co-founder of Surgery 101 podcast and National 3M Teaching Fellow
• Arya Sharma – Canadian obesity expert
• Lori West – Canada Research Chair in Cardiac Transplatation and director of the Canada National Transplant Research Program.

References