Drs. Gary Levy, Hans Messner, Dhun Noria and Patrick Gullane pose for the camera at the 2015 Order of Ontario ceremony. (Photo: Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade)
Four members of the UHN family have received the Order of Ontario, the province's highest honour.
Drs. Patrick Gullane, Gary Levy and Hans Messner are familiar to UHN through their clinical work. Dr. Dhun Noria sits on UHN's Board of Trustees and chairs the Quality Committee of UHN's Board.
They are among 26 Ontarians who were recognized at a ceremony Tuesday afternoon at Queen's Park.
"Their diverse and significant contributions have had an impact on the lives of millions of Ontarians, improving our quality of life, making our communities stronger and positioning this province as an international centre of excellence in many endeavours," Lieutenant-Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell said in a news release.
The Order of Ontario, created in 1986, recognizes individuals who have demonstrated excellence and achievement in any field benefitting the people of Ontario or anywhere in the world.
Here's a closer look at the four UHN recipients.
Head and neck surgeon Dr. Patrick Gullane was recognized for his "enormous contribution" to the field. (Photo: UHN)
Dr. Patrick Gullane – a pre-eminent head and neck surgeon at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, he is recognized internationally for his enormous contribution to the field. What had been disfiguring or even impossible surgery for malignancies is now surgery that saves lives and provides a better quality of life with hope.
For more on Dr. Gullane read a 2010 Q&A with him here.
Dr.
Gary Levy pioneered use of living donor liver transplants in Canada.
(Photo: UHN)
Dr. Gary Levy – Founding Director of the Multi-Organ Transplant Program at Toronto General Hospital and Director of the Living Donor Liver Program for UHN, he pioneered the use of living donor liver transplants in Canada and established one of the largest transplant programs in the world.
For more on Dr. Levy read a UHN News story from 2013 here.
Dr.
Hans Messner was pioneer in bone marrow and stem cell transplants.
(Photo: UHN)
Dr. Hans Messner – a renowned scientist and physician, recognized for his pioneering work in bone marrow and stem cell transplantation at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, he has taken what was once considered experimental and made it routine and in doing so has extended the lives of thousands of blood cancer patients.
For more on Dr. Messner read a UHN News story from 2013 here.
Dr. Dhun Noria has "built a career on an unwavering commitment to excellence in health care." (Photo: UHN)
Dr. Dhun Noria – a Vice-Chair and Member of the Board of Trustees at UHN, she is a surgical pathologist, Chief of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Director Laboratories at the Scarborough Hospital and has built a career on unwavering commitment to excellence in health care and with significant impact on Ontario's health care system.
For more on Dr. Noria read a 2011 Q&A in Toronto Life here.
Others appointed to the Order of Ontario this year included writer and lecturer John Ralston Saul, social justice advocate Barbara MacQuarrie, artist Charles Pachter, former Ontario Finance Minister Robert Nixon, hockey legend Paul Henderson, cardiologist and medical researcher Ming-Tat Cheung and Marilyn McHarg, former Executive Director of the Canadian branch of Doctors Without Borders.
For a complete list of this year's Order of Ontario recipients and their accomplishments, click here.
