Submission deadline: likely February 2025
One gold medal is awarded to the graduate student who has achieved the most outstanding academic record as a doctoral student. A second gold medal is awarded to the graduate student who has achieved the most outstanding academic record as a master’s student completing a thesis.
Medals are presented on behalf of the Governor General of Canada by participating educational institutions, along with a personalized certificate signed by the Governor General.
Award amount: There is no monetary award associated with the medal.
Eligibility
Students must have submitted the final copy of their thesis to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023.
Application Procedure
Submission Deadline: likely February 2025
Each Faculty of Medicine graduate program may nominate one applicant per category (Ph.D. and MSc thesis) to the Dean’s office at the Faculty of Medicine. The Faculty of Medicine may nominate up to two students to the G+PS, one for the Master’s medal and one for the doctoral medal.
Submit an application package as one single PDF (Last name, First name_ program name) through the online portal. The nomination package should include the following order:
- Application form filled out by the student
- All undergraduate and graduate transcripts (complete and up to date)
- Copy of External Examiner’s report on the doctoral dissertation (for PhD applicants only – Master’s applicants do not need to provide an equivalent document)
- Letter of support from thesis supervisor
- Letter of support from the Department Head
Adjudication Procedure
The Graduate and Postdoctoral Education office forms a committee comprising graduate program directors/graduate advisors and senior faculty members to review and rank all the application packages. The top two candidates (one doctoral and one masters) are selected as Faculty of Medicine nominees to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for UBC-wide competition. The final decision is made on the recommendation of Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Education.
The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies will form a committee to review the recommendations from all Faculties and select the two winners. Winners are typically presented with a medal and certificate at the Spring convocation ceremony.
Further Information
The details regarding nomination procedures are posted on the Faculty of Graduate Studies website. For any concerns or queries, please reach out to us at med.gradpostdoc@ubc.ca.
Past Recipients
2023 recipient
Olivia Ferguson was selected as the 2023 recipient of the Governor General’s Gold Medal Award (Master’s). She graduated with an MSc in Rehabilitation Sciences. Her research focussed on “Effects of face masks on multiple dimensions and neurophysiological mechanisms of exertional dyspnea”. Under the supervision of Dr. Jordan Guenette, Olivia’s research used novel methodologies to examine the mechanisms and management of dyspnea (breathlessness or breathing discomfort), focusing specifically on the effects of wearing face masks during exercise on individual experience of breathing discomfort. During her MSc program, Olivia has contributed to numerous studies in healthy populations and those with chronic cardiorespiratory illnesses resulting in 4 peer-reviewed co-authored journal publications and 11 conference presentations. She has received several awards for her research and presentation skills within UBC and at academic conferences.
2018 recipient
Mohit Sodhi was selected as this year’s recipient for the 2018 Governor General’s Gold Medal Award (Master’s). Mohit is graduating with a MSc in Experimental Medicine. His research focuses on the safety of commonly prescribed medications through population databases consisting of millions of patients. He frequently publishes his work in some of the top journals in their respective fields and his work is featured in many prestigious national and international news sources such as the New England Journal of Medicine Journal Watch, Reuters, Medscape, and the Medical Letter, among others. His work is currently shaping prescribing guidelines for the medications he researches.
2016 recipient
Dustin King, recent PhD graduate has been chosen as this year’s recipient for the 2016 Governor General’s Gold Medal Award (Doctoral). Dustin graduates with a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. His doctoral research project takes a multi-disciplinary approach towards understanding the molecular basis of beta-lactamase antibiotic resistance. His work, and collaborations stemming from it, has already led to numerous publications in prestigious journals such as Nature.