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Important dates
Nominations for the Dr. William Cochrane Health Innovation are now closed. The next award cycle is expected to launch in Spring of 2027.
Overview
The Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award recognizes the contributions Albertans have made to transform the health care system and improve patient outcomes through innovation.
Eligibility
This award recognizes an individual or leader of a team who has made a significant contribution to health system innovation that has affected patient outcomes, and who is actively engaged in research, development and scaling of health system innovations.
Health system innovation includes novel developments or changes that lead to improvements in care (improved outcomes and experiences) or efficiency (cost savings or avoidance) when compared with the status quo. The nominee can be engaged in advancing different types of innovation:
- Product innovation involves the development of a new product (for example, device, medication, software), an improvement in the performance of the existing product, or adding a new feature to an existing product.
- Service innovation involves developing a new set of behaviours, routines, and ways of working.
- Process innovation involves improvements to organizational processes used to produce, deliver, or support a product or provide a service.
Eligible nominees can come from across clinical, research, and business backgrounds. The nominee(s) must demonstrate:
- excellence as a scientist, clinician, and/or entrepreneur in the health sector
- perseverance and ability to confront challenges, creativity in problem solving, overcoming roadblocks to innovation, respect and encouragement for colleagues
- development of a ground breaking innovation that has been implemented or is close to implementation and is changing or has changed health care delivery and improved patient outcomes
Considerations
To be considered for the award, a nominee must be:
- a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident residing in Alberta with substantial roots in the province.
You cannot nominate:
- yourself
- someone who is deceased
- an elected federal, provincial or municipal representative while they are in office
- someone you are related to or a team leader if your relative is a member of this team
Award nominations can be made by individuals who are residents of Alberta.
Nomination process
The nomination period is now closed.
Step 1. Read the eligibility guidelines (above)
Step 2. Complete the nomination package
Fillable PDF forms may not open properly on some mobile devices and web browsers. See the step-by-step guide or contact PDF form technical support.
Complete and save the Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award nomination form.
Include the following documents in your nomination package:
- 2 letters of support from at least 2 people who know and support your nominee’s achievements
- the nominee’s resumé
Step 3. Submit the nomination package
In the email subject line, put ‘Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award Nomination.’
- Include the nominee's last name in the file name of the attachments.
Or mail your nomination package to:
Primary and Preventative Health Services
System Value and Innovation Branch
19th Floor, ATB Place North
10025 Jasper Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 1S6
Nominees and recipients
A selection panel consisting of health care experts and business leaders will review the nominations. The panel will recommend a short list of candidates to the Minister of Health for final selection.
The recipient will receive an award recognizing their achievement and will be publicly announced.
Recipient
Dr. David Campbell, 2025
Dr. David Campbell, an endocrinology specialist and research based in Calgary, is the recipient of the 2025 Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award.
Dr. Campbell is a groundbreaking physician and researcher who is committed to improving health for equity-deserving populations in Canada, including those living with homelessness, food insecurity, and severe financial hardship. Dr. Campbell developed and launched the Calgary Diabetes Mobile Clinic, “one-stop-shop” that provides comprehensive and accessible care for people experiencing homelessness. In addition to providing medical care to those who need it most, the clinic provides essential connections to resources to help with housing and food instability through collaborations with The Alex and Alberta Health Services. The clinic was able to offer care to over 100 individuals over it’s first 10 months, demonstrating the exceptional success of this model.
As a researcher, Dr. Campbell has been prolific in both mentoring and publishing. He currently supervises over 25 trainees and has a strong research portfolio. As a mid-career researcher, he has over 130 publications and holds several prestigious awards for research excellence, including a Governor General’s Gold Medal, a Rising Star Award from the Canadian Institute for Health Services and Policy Research, and the 2025 Innovator Award from Diabetes Canada. Despite having busy clinical and research programs, Dr. Campbell is described as an incredibly positive role model and mentor for young researchers and new faculty – helping them to be innovative in their own right and helping them to thrive as they find their footing.
Dr. Campbell received his MD from the University of Calgary in 2012 and his PhD from the University of Calgary in 2017. He is currently a practicing specialist and associate professor in the Departments of Medicine, Community Health Sciences, and Cardiac Sciences at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.
Honourable mention
Dr. Christine East, 2025
Dr. Christine East, an emergency physician based at Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary, is recognized for her impact on Alberta’s health system with an honourable mention for the Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award.
Dr. East has spearheaded the development of a novel initiative to ensure that frequent visitors to the emergency department are able to receive the multidisciplinary supports they often need. These individualized treatment plans, through the Frequent Visitors Program, are embedded within Connect Care and have contributed to a marked reduction in emergency visits, EMS calls, diagnostic imaging, inpatient admissions, and opioid use while significantly improving care coordination and patient outcomes. The Frequent Visitors Program initiative required challenging assumptions about patient responsibility, navigating stakeholder relationships, and addressing concerns around risk, workload, and patient safety. The Program has expanded across Calgary and is in the early stages of scaling across the province, saving over $1 million annually.
Dr. East has shown unwavering commitment, fostering trust and collaboration across disciplines—including emergency medicine, EMS, psychiatry, primary care, and community services. She is known for her calm, principled approach to difficult conversations, her ability to listen deeply, and her talent for bringing people together around a shared vision of better care. She is known for her exceptional perseverance and leadership in advancing innovation within a complex and often siloed health care environment.
Dr. East received her MD from the University of Calgary in 2014 and completed a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Alberta in 2016. She is currently a practicing Emergency Physician and Treatment Plans Physician Lead at Rockyview General Hospital.
Dr. Lawrence Woo, 2025
Dr. Lawrence Woo, an Edmonton-based pharmacist and entrepreneur, is recognized for his impact on Alberta’s health system with an honourable mention for the Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award.
Dr. Woo is the CEO and Founder behind Medi-Scribe, a novel software platform that supports the pharmacists in day-to-day administrative tasks. Medi-Scribe digitizes the entire documentation process, replacing paper with streamlined, intelligent digital workflows. It has been adopted by over 700 pharmacies and identified over 90,000 drug therapy errors, potentially averting severe patient harm. In addition to improving patient safety and pharmacist experience, Medi-Scribe is enabling critical insight into the value that pharmacists bring to the clinical teams.
Dr. Woo is described as a champion for the future of the profession of Pharmacy. He is a passionate mentor to students and has created a scholarship to foster technological innovation in pharmacy practice. Dr. Woo exemplifies what this award celebrates, a clinician-turned-entrepreneur who challenged the status quo, built a tool that is now critical infrastructure for pharmacy care, and is reshaping how pharmacy care is delivered in Alberta and beyond. Dr. Woo was honoured with the 2024 Future of Pharmacy Award from the Alberta Pharmacist’s Association in recognition of his impact and leadership.
Dr. Woo obtained his PharmD from the University of Alberta in 2020 and launched Medi-Scribe in 2021. He is currently the CEO of Medi-Scribe and offers guest lectures and consulting services on a freelance basis.
About Dr. William Cochrane
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Dr. William Cochrane
Dr. William Cochrane’s career spanned the fields of medicine, public service, biomedical research, education and business. As a young pediatrician, he had a strong interest in diabetes research, which led to the development of new diagnostic tests to identify and treat diabetes patients with varied needs. The Cochrane test for diagnosing L-leucine intolerance was a discovery he made before becoming a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1956. This test, which is still in use today, identifies a type of hypoglycemia that is sensitive to protein intake.
He was awarded the Borden Award of the Nutrition Society of Canada for his scientific research into metabolic diseases of children. This award was followed by many other honours later in life, including the Order of Canada (1989), BioAlberta Association Award for his contribution to biotechnology in Alberta (2002), Alberta Order of Excellence (2006), and induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (2010).
Dr. Cochrane’s career was full of many firsts. During his time at Dalhousie University (1958 to 1967), he began the first cystic fibrosis clinic in the Maritimes, established the Atlantic Research Centre at the Dalhousie School Faculty of Medicine and arranged funding for the Isaac Walton Killam Hospital for Children.
In 1967, he became the founding dean of medicine at the new University of Calgary (U of C) and later president and vice-chancellor. Thanks to his visionary leadership, thousands of individuals have access to a medical school that combines an innovative curriculum with a focus on rural health and attention to matters that impact the health of Indigenous Peoples. For his efforts to advance health care in Indigenous communities, Dr. Cochrane was made an honorary Medicine Chief of the Stoney Nation.
Never far from centres of innovation, Dr. Cochrane later worked in the public and private sectors. He became Alberta’s deputy minister of health in 1973-74 before moving into the realm of business as chairman and CEO of Connaught Laboratories from 1978 to 1989. At Connaught, he championed a new strategy for the company that focused on genetic engineering, guiding a company’s transition from a primarily university-based laboratory, into an international biotechnological success story. His strategy was to link government funding and university-based curiosity-driven research with projects that had the ability to generate a return on investment in a market-driven economy.
During Dr. Cochrane's tenure with the company, Connaught became a major international developer of flu vaccines for the World Health Organization and other international health agencies. The company’s developments, which included insulin, plasma products and vaccines, served to improve the quality of life of people across Canada and around the world.
After 10 years at the helm of Connaught, Dr. Cochrane took on new challenges as president of W.A. Cochrane and Associates. His unique blend of medical and entrepreneurial skills has helped many scientists move their biomedical research from the lab to commercial applications. Dr. Cochrane also advised the Canadian government on biotechnological advances and technology transfer, contributing to the creation of the first Canadian Strategy for Biotechnology and the establishment of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.
While some might see his careers as a doctor and entrepreneur as being disparate, Dr. Cochrane described them as being dependent on one’s ability to "deal with people and keep the team balanced," adding that his greatest satisfaction came "from being connected to the success of others."
Dr. Cochrane died in 2017.
Family and colleagues remember Dr. Cochrane as an avid learner. He loved challenging others and being challenged, and he engaged in professional development beyond retirement. He was always on the move and loved to travel because he believed in empathy and understanding a broad range of perspectives locally, nationally and internationally. Dr. Cochrane had a unique ability to envisage change and used his continuous learning to improve society.
Contact
Connect with the Ministry of Health about the award:
Email: [email protected]
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Health care achievement awards