John G. FitzGerald CACMID Award

The John G. FitzGerald CACMID award recognizes Canadian Microbiologists that have
significantly advanced the field of medical microbiology through their contributions to clinical,
academic, and/or educational pillars.

This prestigious honour is awarded each year at the annual CACMID meeting. The award
includes a monetary value of $1000, a lifetime honorary membership in CACMID, and a
commemorative plaque. The recipient will be invited to the CACMID annual general meeting to
receive the award. Travel and accommodation expenses of the recipient will be reimbursed by
CACMID.

Nominations may be submitted at any time prior to the December deadline, preceding the
annual meeting, by CACMID members. The CACMID board will review the applications and
announce the winner at the Awards Ceremony at the annual meeting. Applications must
include:

1. A nomination form (available from CACMID.ca)
2. A current CV from the nominee (including contact details and list of publications from
   their entire career)
3. A support letter describing their most outstanding and impactful contributions to
   medical or clinical microbiology (3 pages maximum).

This award is named after Dr. John FitzGerald, a pioneer in the field of Medical Microbiology in
Canada. Dr. FitzGerald was born in Drayton, Ontario in 1882. After graduating medical school at
the University of Toronto, he studied at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and Brussels. He soon
returned to Canada where in 1914, Dr. FitzGerald founded Connaught Laboratories in
partnership with the University of Toronto. It was at Connaught Laboratories that Dr. FitzGerald
manufactured Canada’s first safe and effective rabies vaccine and diphtheria anti‐toxin. Dr.
FitzGerald is also regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Laboratory Section meetings of
the Canadian Public Health Association that ultimately became the CACMID annual meeting.

It is to Dr. FitzGerald’s extraordinary contributions to Medical Microbiology in Canada that this
award is dedicated.

Terms of Reference for the John G. FitzGerald CACMID Award:

Goal: The CACMID Awards and Nominations committee is responsible for the promotion and
preservation of this award as a highly prestigious recognition of an individual that has made
significant contributions to advancing the broad field of microbiology.

Award: $1000 cash value, a plaque for the recipient, honourary lifetime CACMID membership,
travel expenses covered to attend the general meeting, a copy of the book, ‘What Disturbs Our
Blood’, authored by Dr. Fitzgerald’s grandson.

Award Process:

• The CACMID Awards and Nominations committee is responsible for the search, review, and selection of award nominees.
• The committee will coordinate a call for nominations from CACMID membership and the Canadian microbiology community with the Secretary‐Treasurer well in advance of the annual general meeting (October‐November).
• Deadline for nominations will be the first week of December.
• Applications must clearly state the key contributions of the nominee, as they pertain to the award, to facilitate objective judgment of the application.
• Unawarded nominations from previous years can be resubmitted as new applications by the initial submitter or by the CACMID board.
• Selected nominees will be approved by a board majority vote, and in the event of a tie, the CACMID President will make the final determination from the tied nominees. Councilors may abstain from voting, citing potential conflict of interest; however, this is discouraged as nominations should be objectively reviewed. The CACMID Secretary‐Treasurer will distribute nomination packages and conduct the voting process.
• The application submitter and award recipient will be notified by the CACMID President once the decision is made.

John G. FitzGerald CACMID Award Recipients

2023 – Dr. Lori Burrows

2022 – Dr. Lorne Tyrrell

2021 – Dr. Allison McGeer 

2020 – Dr. Michael Mulvey

Previous recipients