Three exceptional Canadian scientists have been recognized by UBC’s Faculty of Medicine for their groundbreaking contributions to research in brain health, heart disorders and cancer.
Dr. Sheena Josselyn, Dr. Louise Pilote and Dr. Poul Sorensen are the 2025 recipients of the Faculty’s National Research Prizes, which celebrate individuals who exemplify excellence in scientific research and ongoing impact in their respective fields.
“We celebrate this year’s recipients whose extraordinary research contributions embody the very best of Canadian science and its global impact,” said Dr. Wyeth Wasserman, vice dean, research, UBC Faculty of Medicine. “Their innovative research and leadership have improved health outcomes today, but also set the stage for future discoveries that will better the lives of people across Canada and beyond.”
Each prize is valued at $50,000, making them among the most distinguished research honours awarded by a Canadian university. Recipients were selected by a panel of international experts following a rigorous review process.
Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize
The 2025 Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize is awarded to Dr. Sheena Josselyn for her groundbreaking research on memory and memory-related disorders.
Dr. Josselyn is a senior scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and a professor in the departments of psychology and physiology at the University of Toronto. She holds a Canada Research Chair in Memory Function and Dysfunction.
Dr. Josselyn’s discoveries have profoundly transformed our understanding of how memories are encoded, stored and used in the brain. Her research provided the first scientific evidence for the existence of engrams—groups of neurons that store memories—redefining a long-standing question in neuroscience and marking a tipping point in memory research.
By leveraging innovative tools to identify, visualize and manipulate memory traces in animal models, Dr. Josselyn’s work has advanced fundamental neuroscience and had far-reaching implications for psychiatry, including memory-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. With extraordinary ingenuity and scientific vision, she has reshaped the global neuroscience landscape and continues to lead the field with her contributions.
Margolese National Heart Disorders Prize
The 2025 Margolese National Heart Disorders Prize is awarded to Dr. Louise Pilote for her transformative work integrating sex and gender into cardiovascular research.
Dr. Pilote is a tenured professor of medicine and clinician scientist at McGill University and serves as deputy director of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. She is an internationally acclaimed leader in sex and gender science, cardiovascular research and big data methodologies.
Dr. Pilote is renowned for developing innovative tools to measure gender and evaluate its impact on health outcomes, particularly in cardiovascular disease. As the founder and leader of GENESIS—a team of 50 investigators across Canada—and a key contributor to global gender medicine initiatives such as GENDER-NET Plus, a network of over 30 international researchers, Dr. Pilote significantly advanced the integration of gendered social determinants into health research.
Dr. Pilote’s leadership not only expanded scientific understanding but also built research capacity as she trained graduate students and earned accolades for mentorship. Through prolific scholarship that bridges medical and social sciences, Dr. Pilote has transformed gender-informed medicine and continues to advance equity-focused health care globally.
Dr. Chew Wei Memorial Prize in Cancer Research
The 2025 Dr. Chew Wei Memorial Prize in Cancer Research is awarded to Dr. Poul Sorensen for his revolutionary contributions to pediatric cancer diagnostics and care.
Dr. Sorensen is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the UBC Faculty of Medicine and holds the Johal Chair in Childhood Cancer Research. He is an internationally recognized clinician-scientist and board-certified molecular pathologist.
Working at the intersection of science and patient care, Dr. Sorensen’s research has significantly advanced the diagnosis and treatment of high-risk childhood cancers. He identified key genetic events that drive malignancies, particularly in rare pediatric sarcomas, and leveraged these discoveries to develop molecular diagnostic tools implemented in clinical settings around the world.
Dr. Sorensen has made substantial contributions to the broader scientific and medical community, including a central role in shaping World Health Organization cancer classifications and through collaborative initiatives such as the Pediatric Cancer Dream Team. With unwavering productivity and a collaborative spirit, Dr. Sorensen continues to influence translational research and diagnostic practices worldwide and improve outcomes for pediatric cancer patients.
The Margolese prizes were created by an estate gift to UBC by Leonard Herbert Margolese to recognize Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to the treatment, amelioration or cure of brain or heart disorders. Margolese, who passed away in 2000, was a Vancouver businessman who had a heart condition and whose brother had Alzheimer’s disease.
The Dr. Chew Wei Memorial Prize in Cancer Research is named for a Hong Kong physician who retired to Vancouver in 1988. An obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr. Chew grew determined to improve outcomes for people with cancer. After his death in 2009, his family and friends sought to honour his goals by endowing a Faculty of Medicine prize in cancer research, as well as a chair and a professorship in gynecologic oncology.