Two UBC Medicine community members – Dr. Jana-Lea Davidson and Dr. Cheryl Ho – have been honoured as recipients of the 2025 YWCA Women of Distinction Awards in recognition of their extraordinary contribution to the well-being of families and communities.
The 42nd annual YWCA Women of Distinction Awards awardees and nominees were celebrated during a ceremony on April 28. Several members of the faculty of medicine community were nominated for the awards across categories including Reconciliation in Action, Health and Wellness and Research, the Sciences and Technology.
Congratulations to this year’s recipients from the UBC Faculty of Medicine:
Health and Wellness
Dr. Jana-Lea Davidson, Clinical Professor, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Davidson is the inaugural Chief Medical Officer for BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre. She led the hospitals’ response during the COVID-19 pandemic and led work to unite strategic goals across the organizations. Dr. Davidson’s contributions have transformed child and youth mental health care in B.C., having co-founded the National Institute of Families for Child and Youth Mental Health and now serving as Founding Board Director. The institute encourages collaboration between caregivers and professionals and jurisdictions worldwide have emulated its model. Dr. Davidson championed the creation of the Institute of Global Health at Children’s and Women’s Health Centre, the first of its kind in North America. She was also appointed Division Head of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at UBC.
Research, the Sciences and Technology
Dr. Cheryl Ho, Clinical Associate Professor, Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine
Dr. Ho, a Medical Oncologist at BC Cancer and the Director of the Medical Oncology Fellowship Program and Clinical Associate Professor in UBC’s Faculty of Medicine, has dedicated her academic career to researching advancements in cancer treatments. Dr. Ho partnered with Johns Hopkins University as the Canadian Chair co-leading a clinical trial that studied the use of “liquid biopsies” as early markers of lung cancer response to immuno-chemotherapy. She also co-created Precision Oncology Evidence Development in Cancer Treatment, an $8-million project with Roche that was instrumental in broadening access to molecular testing and targeted cancer therapies in BC to generate evidence for sustainable health care. She is regularly invited to speak nationally and internationally, and she’s published more than 130 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals.