For their outstanding contributions to health care through improved nursing practices and advancements in probiotics, Heather Laschinger and Gregor Reid have earned the Hellmuth Prize, The University of Western Ontario’s highest distinction for sustained excellence in research.
They will be recognized at a public ceremony on Monday (April 19) at 4 p.m. in Conron Hall at Western. Awarded annually, the Hellmuth Prize was established in 1996 and is named for Bishop Isaac Hellmuth, one of the University’s founders and a pioneer of higher education in Canada.
Heather Laschinger leads a research program investigating the impact of nursing work environments on nurses’ empowerment for professional practices, and their health and well-being.
This research has resulted in important contributions to policy-making and program development at various levels of government. She has also served on many expert panels as a consultant on nursing work life policy task forces, both at federal and provincial levels.
Laschinger has authored or co-authored 66 publications since 2003, is the principal investigator on three projects totalling more than $1.2 million and co-investigator in 12 other studies totalling more than $10.5 million. She is a Distinguished University Professor and Arthur Labatt Family Research Chair in Health Human Resource Optimization at the School of Nursing in Western’s Faculty of Health Sciences.
Gregor Reid’s research is primarily on the role of beneficial bacteria and probiotics on health in the urogenital tract in women. He has been studying probiotics for more than 25 years and is a powerful advocate for the role of good bacteria in human health.
He has published more than 285 peer-reviewed papers, holds 28 patents and has presented more than 350 seminars in 36 countries. In 2006, he was appointed President of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics and has been Chair of the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Panel and Working Group on Probiotics.
Reid is a Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, and Surgery at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. In addition to his Western affiliations, he is the Assistant Director at the Lawson Health Research Institute and Director of the Canadian Research and Development Centre for Probiotics.
“Both Heather Laschinger and Gregor Reid have established themselves as leaders in their fields, and benefits from their work are being felt here in Canada and around the world,” says Ted Hewitt, Western’s Vice-President (Research & International Relations). “Their contributions to education and healthcare reinforce our position as a leading research-intensive university and are critical to training to tomorrow’s leaders.”