World-renowned physician-scientist and health sciences education leader Dr. Peter Nickerson has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Nickerson, UM distinguished professor, vice-provost (health sciences) and dean of the Max Rady College of Medicine and the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, is among more than 50 Canadians who were newly appointed to the Order of Canada on June 26.
Nickerson, a transplant nephrologist, is internationally recognized for groundbreaking research that has significantly improved patients' access to life-prolonging kidney transplants and reduced their risk of organ rejection. He was instrumental in establishing Canada's national network for kidney donation and transplantation.
"It is an immense honour to be appointed to the Order of Canada," said Nickerson, a distinguished professor of internal medicine and immunology in the Max Rady College of Medicine. "It is a great privilege to have my life's work recognized, which I could not have accomplished without the hard work of countless colleagues and collaborators over the years."
In his four years as dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, he has led the expansion of several programs, including medicine, nursing and respiratory therapy. He also helped establish the new College of Community and Global Health and the School of Biomedical Sciences.
Nickerson, a 1986 UM alumnus in medicine, completed his postgraduate training in internal medicine and nephrology at UM, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship in transplant research at Harvard Medical School. He joined the UM faculty in 1995 and immediately established a clinical research program in transplant medicine.
Nickerson's many awards include the Lifetime Achievement Award from Canadian Blood Services, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Society of Transplantation and the Medal for Research Excellence from the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
