Learn more about the distinguished recipients of the CAGS Research Awards. These awards are adjudicated by the Research Committee and are presented annually at the Canadian Surgery Forum.
CAGS is pleased to recognize Dr. James Shapiro with the 2024 Career Excellence in Research Award.
Dr. James Shapiro is an exceptionally dedicated surgeon-scientist whose lifelong work has transformed the lives of patients living with diabetes and advanced the field of transplantation in Canada and worldwide. His remarkable career spans over four decades of innovative research, clinical excellence, and mentorship.
Dr. Shapiro is best known for leading the team that developed the groundbreaking Edmonton Protocol for islet cell transplantation, a landmark achievement that revolutionized outcomes for patients with Type 1 Diabetes. Following this success, he pioneered the first-in-human CRISPR gene-edited stem cell islet progenitor transplant performed without immune suppression and continues to lead international multicentre trials to improve outcomes for patients worldwide.
A Professor of Surgery, Medicine, and Surgical Oncology at the University of Alberta, Dr. Shapiro also serves as Director of the Liver Transplant, Living Donor Liver Transplant, and Islet Transplant Programs—overseeing more than 110 liver transplants annually. His own group has completed more than 400 islet transplants, representing one-third of the global experience. Despite his extensive research commitments, he remains a highly respected and compassionate clinician, admired by both patients and colleagues for his humility and generosity of spirit.
Dr. Shapiro’s research accomplishments are exceptional. He has secured over $100 million in grant funding and maintains active programs in basic science, translational, and clinical research. His publication record includes numerous papers in The Lancet, Nature, and Nature Biotechnology, with an H-index of 80. His leadership and scholarship have earned him numerous honours, including the Hunterian Medal from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Gold Medals from both the Governor General and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Uppsala and Athabasca.
Equally impressive is his dedication to mentorship. Dr. Shapiro has trained over 100 medical students, residents, fellows, and graduate students—many of whom have become leaders, clinician-scientists, and policymakers in their own right. As his former trainee, I can personally attest to his unwavering support and guidance, which helped me become the first female full Professor of Surgery at the University of Alberta and a national advocate for improving care for frail patients.
Dr. Shapiro is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and he continues to serve on numerous editorial boards, reviewing over 200 papers annually. His impact extends beyond the laboratory and operating room—he is a true champion of equity, diversity, and inclusion, leading by example and inspiring those around him.
In every respect, Dr. Shapiro embodies the spirit of Career Excellence in Research. His visionary work, global impact, and lifelong dedication to advancing surgical science and patient care make him an extraordinarily deserving recipient of this honour.
CAGS is pleased to recognize Dr. Kelly Vogt with the 2024 “Rising Star” in Research Award.
Dr. Kelly Vogt is an accomplished academic surgeon and researcher whose career exemplifies excellence in clinical care, research innovation, and mentorship. Following the completion of her fellowship in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care at the University of Southern California’s LA County Medical Center, Dr. Vogt joined the faculty at London Health Sciences Centre and the Division of General Surgery at Western University in 2014.
L-R: Dr. Rebecca Auer, CAGS Research Chair, Dr. Kelly Vogt, Dr. Sean Cleary, CAGS PresidentShe is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery, with a cross-appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and is a member of the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences (ICES) at Western University. Dr. Vogt also serves as Chair of the Department of Surgery Research Committee, Faculty and Resident Research Director in General Surgery, Co-Director of ICES Western Surgery, and Chair of the Western Ontario Research Collaborative on Acute Care Surgery. In these leadership roles, she oversees all resident research activities, supervises research associates, assists faculty with grant applications, and organizes the division’s annual research retreat and research day.Dr. Vogt has been highly successful in securing research funding from numerous sources, including the Lawson Health Research Institute, the Ontario Association of General Surgeons, the Canadian Association of General Surgeons, Western University’s Department of Medicine, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and the Department of Surgery Internal Research Fund. Most recently, she has served as co-applicant on two CIHR grants totaling over $1.5 million.
She is the founder and leader of the Canadian Collaborative on Urgent Care Surgery (CANUCS)—a national research platform that has positioned Canada at the forefront of acute care surgery research. Through CANUCS, Dr. Vogt has led multiple research initiatives and authored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications, including three randomized controlled trials.
Dr. Vogt continues to make significant contributions to the Canadian Association of General Surgeons (CAGS), where she serves as Chair of the Acute Care Surgery Committee, a member of the Research Committee, and a frequent panel chair at the Canadian Surgery Forum. Her work has been recognized through numerous awards, including the Department of Surgery Academic Merit Award – Research Scientist (twice) and the Clinician Scientist Award in 2014.
A prolific researcher and respected scholar, Dr. Vogt has presented her work at national and international meetings and has been invited to serve as a poster competition judge. She is an active reviewer for several high-impact journals, including The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Annals of Surgery, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, World Journal of Surgery, Canadian Journal of Surgery, and American Journal of Surgery. She has co-authored more than 52 publications, serving as senior author on over 25 of them.
Dr. Vogt’s research excellence has been further recognized through competitive funding, including a $263,000 Academic Medical Organization of Southwestern Ontario (AMOSO) grant for the Data Matters project—developing and implementing a national Acute Care Surgery registry—and a $25,000 CIHR grant to establish research priorities for the CANUCS program focusing on access and outcomes among marginalized patient populations.
Her contributions to medical research, education, and mentorship are exceptional. Dr. Vogt consistently supports the professional growth of colleagues and trainees, offering guidance on research design, presentation, and publication. Her mentorship and leadership have strengthened the academic mission of Western University and elevated acute care surgery research across Canada.
Dr. Vogt’s productivity, vision, and commitment to advancing both science and education make her a deserving candidate for national recognition as a leader in surgical research and academic excellence.
CAGS is pleased to recognize Dr. Rebecca Auer with the 2025 Career Excellence in Research Award.
Dr. Auer believe that research IS care and is dedicated to ensuring all patients are provided an opportunity to participate in research.
Dr. Rebecca Auer is the Executive Vice-President of Research and Innovation at The Ottawa Hospital and the CEO and Scientific Director of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Dr. Auer is an internationally recognized translational researcher in the field of perioperative cancer therapies. In 2007, Dr. Auer was recruited to Ottawa and currently holds the position of Surgical Oncologist at The Ottawa Hospital, Senior Scientist in the Cancer Research Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and Professor in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and received over $30 million dollars in peer-reviewed funding to support her work. Dr. Auer is also the co-founder of the Canadian Cholangiocarcinoma Collaborative (C3) which aims provide hope to Canadian patients with biliary tract cancers by integrating research into care.
Dr. Auer is an international leader in the field of Surgical Oncology. She has served on the executive of the Canadian Cancer Trials Group, the Society of Surgical Oncology, and the Canadian Association of General Surgeons, where she served as the Chair of the Research Committee. She is also an active member of the Terry Fox Research Institute, BioCanRx and the Canadian Cancer Society, where she sits of the Advisory Council. She sits on the Executive Committee of CAGS as the Member of Large (Academic) and is the past Research Chair of CAGS and the Canadian General Surgery Foundation.
CAGS is pleased to recognize Dr. Andrea MacNeill with the 2025 “Rising Star” in Research Award.
Dr. MacNeill’s research program has developed along a coherent trajectory that has produced multiple groundbreaking contributions. Her 2017 carbon foot-printing study of operating theaters, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, has been cited 659 times and established the foundational methodology for analyzing environmental impacts in healthcare settings. This work was followed by her equally influential assessment of the Canadian healthcare system’s environmental footprint, making Canada only the third country globally to quantify its healthcare emissions.
Recognizing that measurement alone was insufficient, Dr. MacNeill developed the “Planetary Healthcare Framework,” which offers a comprehensive approach to transforming healthcare systems to improve sustainability while maintaining quality of care. This framework has become a cornerstone for policy development and implementation strategies across the sector.
In 2021, she founded the UBC Planetary Healthcare Lab, the first academic entity of its kind globally, bringing together nine faculty experts from diverse disciplines to develop evidence-based solutions for healthcare sustainability. Simultaneously, she successfully co-led a $6 million grant application to Environment and Climate Change Canada, establishing CASCADES (Creating a Sustainable Canadian Health System in a Climate Crisis), a national network for knowledge mobilization in sustainable healthcare.
Perhaps most notably, Dr. MacNeill co-chairs the UBC-Yale Lancet Commission on Sustainable Healthcare, coordinating more than 40 global experts from 22 countries in developing comprehensive guidance for sustainable health system transformation. This Commission will produce a landmark 30,000-word report along with 14 standalone publications in 2025, establishing standardized measurement frameworks applicable across diverse healthcare settings worldwide.
CAGS is pleased to recognize Dr. Paul Karanicolas with the 2026 Career Excellence in Research Award.
Dr. Paul Karanicolas has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the CAGS Career Excellence in Research Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to surgical research, his leadership in advancing surgeon-led clinical trials in Canada and internationally, his commitment to mentoring the next generation of surgical researchers, and his collaborative approach to research that delivers meaningful impact.
A surgeon-scientist and full professor at the University of Toronto, Dr. Karanicolas is a hepatopancreatobiliary surgical oncologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. His research focuses on multicentre clinical trials and perioperative care, with particular emphasis on developing and conducting clinical trials in surgical oncology. In 2011, he established the HPB CONCEPT Team, bringing together HPB surgeons, methodologists and patient advocates to develop a consensus-based framework for liver and pancreas cancer research. This work led to the design and completion of the HeLiX trial, which enrolled 1,400 patients and examined the impact of tranexamic acid on blood transfusion in patients undergoing liver resection.
In 2017, Dr. Karanicolas established the IMPACTS program, an innovative, multicentre, patient-centred approach to conducting high-quality pragmatic randomized controlled trials in surgery. Through this program, he has helped identify and address important uncertainties in surgical and perioperative care, including the CIHR-funded CLEAN Wound trial, which completed accrual of 2,500 patients. His research portfolio encompasses numerous influential clinical trials addressing perioperative interventions, surgical oncology, patient outcomes and quality of care. He has authored nearly 100 peer-reviewed publications, including research published in leading medical journals, and has an H-index of 54.
Beyond his individual research achievements, Dr. Karanicolas has demonstrated exceptional leadership in building research capacity and engaging the broader surgical community. As Medical and Scientific Director of the Centre for Clinical Trial Support at Sunnybrook Research Institute, he works to strengthen the development, design and institutional support of investigator-initiated clinical trials. He has also held numerous national and international leadership roles, including with the Canadian Cancer Trials Group, the Ontario Ministry of Health Surgical Innovation Program, the CIHR RCT Committee and the Americas HPB Association.
Mentorship is another defining element of Dr. Karanicolas’s career. He is actively involved in general surgery residency and HPB and surgical oncology fellowship training, supervises graduate students in clinical epidemiology and clinical trial methodology, and has supported junior surgeons as they establish their research careers. His commitment to mentorship has been recognized through the Dr. Charles Tator Surgeon Scientist Mentoring Award and the Eugenie Stuart Best Thesis Supervisor Award, among other honours.
Dr. Karanicolas also exemplifies the collaborative spirit of surgical research. His willingness to support research beyond his own areas of specialty has helped strengthen clinical trials across Canada. The nomination highlights his contribution to the PERIOP-01 trial, where his decision to open the study at Sunnybrook and encourage participation by colleagues helped the trial continue to successful completion and publication.
Through a sustained record of practice-changing research, national and international research leadership, mentorship and collaboration, Dr. Karanicolas has made a significant contribution to advancing surgical research and improving patient care. His career exemplifies the excellence recognized by the CAGS Career Excellence in Research Award.
CAGS is pleased to recognize Dr. Boris Zevin with the 2026 “Rising Star” in Research Award.
Dr. Boris Zevin has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the CAGS “Rising Star” in Research Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to surgical research, education and innovation. In less than a decade as a faculty member, Dr. Zevin has established an internationally recognized research program focused on transforming how surgical education, assessment and performance are approached.
As a SEAMO Medical Education Scholar and Associate Professor at Queen’s University, Dr. Zevin’s interdisciplinary research brings together surgery, medical education, artificial intelligence, computer vision and large language models. His work has explored innovative approaches to procedural skills assessment, simulation-based training, operative video review and the quality of feedback provided to surgical trainees. His research includes the development of AI-enabled technologies to support competency-based medical education and the use of real-time computer navigation to improve surgical skills training.
His research productivity and impact are reflected in more than 90 peer-reviewed publications and four book chapters, with nearly 2,000 citations and an h-index of 22. His work has been published in leading journals including Annals of Surgery, British Journal of Surgery, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Journal of Surgical Education and Surgical Endoscopy. His research program has attracted more than $3 million in peer-reviewed and industry funding, including support from CAGS, SAGES, NSERC and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Dr. Zevin has also demonstrated a strong commitment to building research capacity and mentoring the next generation of surgeon-scientists. He currently supervises PhD and Master’s trainees and has guided more than 40 medical students and residents toward research awards at national and international conferences. His contributions to mentorship and medical education have been recognized through honours including the Ron Wigle Mentorship Award and the CAME Certificate of Merit.
His research portfolio demonstrates a sustained progression from foundational work in surgical skills assessment and simulation to innovative applications of AI and digital technologies in competency-based surgical education. His numerous peer-reviewed grants include a CAGS Operating Grant supporting research into AI-enabled operating-room video capture and assessment technology, as well as funding for an open-source AI-driven competency-based training and assessment platform for open surgical skills.
Through the originality, productivity and impact of his scholarship, together with his commitment to mentorship and advancing surgical education, Dr. Zevin exemplifies the emerging generation of academic surgeon-scientists. His work is helping shape the future of surgical training and assessment in Canada and internationally, making him a highly deserving recipient of the CAGS “Rising Star” in Research Award.
