Five UCalgary faculty elected as RSC Fellows and one named to incoming class of the RSC College

On Sept. 3, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) announced the election of five UCalgary faculty members as new Fellows. 

The RSC recognizes outstanding scholarly, scientific, and artistic achievement; elected by their peers, it is the highest honour an individual can achieve in the arts, social sciences and sciences. 

 New RSC Fellows Dr. Nathalie Jette, MD; Dr. Deborah Marshall, PhD; Dr. Suzette Mayr, PhD; Dr. Keith Sharkey, PhD; and Dr. Alain Verbeke, PhD, will be formally inducted into the RSC at a ceremony in November. The RSC also named UCalgary’s Dr. Bukola Salami, PhD, to the RSC College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. 

The RSC College recognizes multidisciplinary early-stage career scholars from across the country who have demonstrated a high level of achievement in advancing Canadian intellectual leadership. Salami will be welcomed as a new member to the RSC College at a November ceremony. “Congratulations to Drs. Jette, Marshall, Mayr, Sharkey and Verbeke on being elected as RSC Fellows,” says Dr. Ed McCauley, PhD, president of the University of Calgary and Fellow of the RSC. 

“I would also like to congratulate Dr. Salami on joining the RSC as a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.” “University of Calgary scholars from across disciplines and at all career stages are contributing to research excellence in Canada. 

Their leadership and dedication to enhancing arts, humanities and the sciences will help build a better future, and we are extremely proud of their achievements.” 2024 RSC Fellows Dr. Nathalie Jette, MD, MSc, FRCPC, FAAN, FAES, FANA Professor, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) Jette is a professor of neurology and department head of clinical neurosciences at the University of Calgary and the Calgary Zone of Alberta Health Services. 

She is an internationally recognized clinician-scientist who has led the field in epilepsy health services research. Jette focuses on using big data to understand health outcomes and developing tools to optimize the dissemination of evidence-based practice. Her work has enhanced the lives of people with epilepsy globally through their influence on health care delivery and through her leadership and involvement with prominent international organizations, including the International League Against Epilepsy and World Health Organization. 

Jette’s impactful research aimed at improving access to timely, high-quality equitable care has been recognized through more than 75 awards, including the International Ambassador for Epilepsy Award, the highest recognition in the field of epilepsy research. Learn more about Jette’s research. Jette is a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and the O’Brien Institute for Public Health. 

 Dr. Deborah Marshall, PhD Professor, Departments of Community Health Sciences and Medicine, CSM Marshall is the Svare Chair in Health Economics at the CSM, the scientific director, research and partnership evaluation and impact for the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, and the value, impact and knowledge mobilization lead for the One Child Every Child Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) initiative. 

She has established an international reputation for her foundational research shaping how we measure value and impact in the fields of patient-oriented research, patient preferences, and engagement of patients in research. Her research has had global impact on research practice guidance, patient-centered care and outcomes, and health policy that has influenced the integration of patient, family, and other voices to improve health care decision-making. Learn more about Marshall’s research and teaching. Marshall is a member of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, the O’Brien Institute for Public Health, and the One Child Every Child initiative. 

Dr. Suzette Mayr, PhD Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Arts From her first published novel in 1995 to her 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning novel, the Sleeping Car Porter, Mayr is established as one of the most unique and imaginative voices in Canadian literary fiction. All six of her novels have been distinguished by prize juries and have been extensively reviewed and written about in theses, book chapters, and journals, and she has published her own research on Canadian and global literature. 

A writer, critic, and mentor, Mayr has contributed her unique style to enriching Black and queer contemporary literature in Canada and has been instrumental in shaping future voices of Canadian creative writing. Learn more about Mayr’s research and teaching. Dr. Keith Sharkey, PhD, CAGF, FCAHS Professor, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, CSM Sharkey is an award-winning gastrointestinal (GI) physiologist who has made outstanding contributions to understanding the neural control of the gastrointestinal tract and the brain-gut connection. 

As a pioneer in these studies, he has helped define a field that is now recognized for its vital importance in health, neurological, psychiatric, and GI diseases. His innovative, impactful research is recognized internationally and has led to new insights into the causes of the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease, understanding of the mechanisms of action of cannabis in controlling nausea and vomiting, and the neurophysiology of GI motility. Sharkey’s research continues to improve our ability to understand gastrointestinal disorders. 

 Learn more about Sharkey’s research and teaching. Sharkey is a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. Dr. Alain Verbeke, PhD Professor, Haskayne School of Business Alain Verbeke is a professor of International Business Strategy and the McCaig Chair in Management at the Haskayne School of Business. 

He also serves as the Inaugural Alan M. Rugman Memorial Fellow at the Henley Business School, University of Reading. Verbeke is the only Canadian elected to both the Academy of International Business and the European International Business Academy — the international business profession’s highest academic societies. He has profoundly influenced academic thinking and managerial practice on governance of new resource combinations in multinational enterprises. 

Several of his novel concepts, including location-bound firm-specific advantages, subsidiary-specific advantages, bounded reliability, bifurcation bias, and regional strategy focus, are now widely used in multinational management practice. 

2024 Member of the RSC College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Dr. Bukola Salami, RN, PhD, FCAN, FAAN Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, CSM Salami is a professor at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. She is an internationally recognized leader on Black people’s health, racialized people’s health, and immigrant health. Her research is focused on changing the health care experience for Black populations and works in partnership with communities to develop programs to meet their needs. 

Her work contributed to the creation of the first mental health clinic for Black Canadians in Western Canada, the first interdisciplinary university-based mentorship program for Black youths in Western Canada, and the Institute for Intersectionality Studies. Learn more about Salami’s research: Project aimed at improving well-being of Black children and youth in Canada receives federal funding | Empowering the future: Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program transforms lives. Salami is a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, the O’Brien Institute for Public Health, the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, and the One Child Every Child initiative.