News
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada presents two awards in honour of IRIC members
Published on July 5, 2023
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC) presents six awards each year to recognize the contributions of the organization’s volunteers and staff. Two of these awards are named in honour of IRIC members: the Dr. Trang Hoang – Healthcare Professional of the Year Award and the William Brock – Courage to Inspire Award. IRIC is very proud to be able to count on these two models of commitment on a daily basis.
Recognition of exemplary commitment
The collaboration between the LLSC and Professor Trang Hoang, Director of IRIC’s Hematopoiesis and Leukemia Research Unit, goes back more than 20 years. Initially a member of peer review committees, Trang Hoang went on to chair the advisory committee for fifteen years. Her greatest pride is to have worked with the Chairman of the Board of Directors at that time, Me Gilles Legault, to raise awareness of the need to significantly increase the LLSC’s annual research funding budget, which now stands at $5 million per year.
“The LLSC is a very special society,” says Professor Hoang. “It’s a committed community of extraordinary people. Working with LLSC has always been a real pleasure.”
The Dr. Trang Hoang – Healthcare Professional of the Year Award is presented annually to a clinician, researcher or healthcare professional who has made an exemplary contribution to blood cancer research or to the advancement of care for patients and families affected by blood cancer. In 2023, the award was presented to Billy Vinette, a doctoral student at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre and lecturer at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Nursing, for his exceptional and generous contribution to various LLSC projects.
The courage to inspire
William Brock, Chairman of IRIC’s Board of Directors, is himself a leukemia survivor. A stem cell transplant in 2004 cured him of the disease. Since then, he has been involved in his community to give back to research and medicine, notably through fundraising and public awareness. The William Brock Award – Courage to Inspire 2023 was presented to Mrs. Carla Petrella, for her courageous contribution to the LLSC’s Light The Night event in memory of her son, for a world without Blood Cancer.
