Meet the 2026 inductees into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

Congratulations are in order for six new inductees in the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. They are all prolific researchers, leaders, teachers, mentors and world-renowned experts in their field who have made sizeable impacts on clinical care for patients worldwide.The induction ceremony will be held in Calgary in association with the University of Calgary in June 2026. The inductees contributions to medicine will be honoured in the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame's permanent physical exhibit hall in London, Ont. Dr. Pavel HametA clinician and professor of medicine at Université de Montréal, Dr. Hamet has made significant contributions to the understanding of hypertension and diabetes, including research on a genetic basis for sensitivity to environmental causes of hypertension. He currently holds a Canada Research Chair in predictive genomics, and leads the gene medicine service and the ecogenomics platform for complex diseases at the university. He and his team have focused on developing a genomic test based on a saliva sample to predict a patient’s risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Dr. Hamet founded and was director of the Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal from 1996 to 2006. Dr. Robert HegeleDr. Hegele is a professor of medicine and biochemistry at the Western University in London, Ont. He’s an expert in the clinical management of lipid disorders and a researcher involved in elucidating the genetic underpinnings of lipid disorders. He and his team have found genetic causes for hepatic lipase deficiency and familial partial lipodystrophy types 2 and 3. He’s also focused on translating science from bench to bedside, including developing LipidSeq, a DNA sequencing panel used to help patients in Ontario. Dr. Hegele is the director of the London Regional Genomics Centre at Robarts Research Institute at Western University.Dr. Michael HillNeurologist Dr. Michael Hill will be on his home turf when he's inducted into the Medical Hall of Fame in 2026. A professor at the University of Calgary, Dr. Hill has contributed significantly to knowledge on the clinical treatment for ischemic stroke. For example, he co-led the ESCAPE trial, which showed rapid endovascular thrombectomy improved functional outcomes and reduced mortality compared to usual care for severe ischemic strokes (involving large vessel occlusion). This finding has impacted clinical guidelines and patients on a global scale. Recently he co-led a study that suggests endovascular thrombectomy provided no additional benefits compared to thrombolytic medicines for patients with medium vessel occlusions causing ischemic stroke. Among other titles, Dr. Hill is the president of the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation.Mary R. L'AbbéL’Abbé has been at the forefront of optimizing nutrition policy and food supply chains in Canada and internationally for decades. In various roles, including Health Canada’s director of the bureau of nutritional sciences, L’Abbé has guided initiatives to mandate clear food labels, reduce salt intake and limit trans fats. At the University of Toronto, L’Abbé established the Food Label Information and Price database, which helps inform policy across the world. L’Abbé is director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Policy for chronic disease prevention.Morag ParkPark’s work on the molecular mechanisms, cellular interactions and tumour microenvironments in cancer has led to precision therapies that improve patient care worldwide. She helped identify the MET oncogene, a receptor tyrosine kinase that drives certain aggressive cancers. Her continued research in the area, and particularly in triple-negative subtypes of breast cancer, has paved the way for new therapeutic strategies. She served as director at McGill University’s Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute from 2013 to 2025 and helped established Quebec’s first breast cancer tumour bank.Dr. Bernard ZinmanDr. Zinman is a clinician-scientist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto specializing in care for patients with diabetes. He was a lead investigator on the DCCT/EDIC clinical trial, which suggested that intensive diabetes control can reduce long-term complications of Type 1 diabetes. He also led the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial, which showed that empagliflozin, a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, added to standard care, improved cardiovascular outcomes, renal disease progression and glucose control compared to placebo and standard care. He served as the director of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre from 1993 to 2000 and was a clinician-scientist at the Mount Sinai Hospital and the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute. More information about the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame induction ceremony is available on its website.

Meet the 2026 inductees into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

Register for free access or login.

Related Topics