Four Canadians recognized with 2019 Royal College International Collaboration Awards
The Royal College International Collaboration Award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated leadership and excellence in advancing postgraduate medical education and residency training outside Canada, through — but not limited to — enacting, participating in, or promoting Royal College frameworks, programs and/or collaborations.
Co-recipients Drs. Gwen Hollaar and Jane Lemaire

Dr. Gwen Hollaar and Dr. Jane Lemaire
Drs. Hollaar and Lemaire, together with their Lao colleagues, have provided the leadership to help develop a new medical school undergraduate curriculum, initiate a family medicine training program and provide continuing medical education opportunities for family medicine program graduates. They work tirelessly with their Lao colleagues to strengthen medical education within teaching hospitals and rural teaching sites.
The Laos project is supported by a multitude of invested physician and non-physician volunteers and colleagues both in Calgary and Laos. This immensely productive and successful collaboration has spawned friendships, positive change and hope.
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Gwen Hollaar, MD, FRCSC
- General surgeon, Department of Surgery, University of Calgary
- Assistant dean of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary
Throughout her career, Dr. Hollaar has been involved in global health projects with a primary focus on medical education. Locally, she participates in preparing and debriefing medical trainees who go on global health electives and mentors residents in global health projects. Nationally, she has led the International Surgery Committee of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons and organized the Bethune Round Table Global Surgery conference in Calgary on two occasions. Internationally, she has led or served as an advisor for medical education projects for the Global Health Office at the University of Calgary. Most recently, she has been co-leading the International Institute for Medical Education Leadership where faculty from eight partner institutions in low and middle income countries are brought together to learn, share challenges and share successes in medical education.
Dr. Hollaar has been co-lead on the Laos project with Dr. Jane Lemaire for many years.
Jane Lemaire, MD, FRCPC
- Practising consultant in General Internal Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
- Clinical professor, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Dr. Lemaire has spent much of her career as a medical educator at the local and national levels. She has received numerous awards for her teaching skills and has spearheaded innovations in medical education locally. Dr. Lemaire served on the Royal College’s Internal Medicine Committee as a member and then chair for almost a decade. More recently, she has led research on the evolving role of the clinical teaching unit preceptor within the complex health system model. Dr. Lemaire’s area of research expertise is physician wellness. She is currently a member of the Royal College’s Physician Health Advisory Group.
Dr. Lemaire has participated in global health projects throughout her career, with a focus on the Laos project for the last 20 years. She is the co-lead of the project alongside Dr. Gwen Hollaar.
Dr. Barry Rosen

Dr. Barry Rosen
“Dr. Rosen’s role in the initiation and development of a multi-faceted sustainable gynaecologic oncology program in western Kenya, with a Kenyan-based Gynaecology Oncology Fellowship program at its centre, represents the very best in leadership and excellence in advancing postgraduate medical education and training outside of Canada.”
The program that Dr. Rosen developed and initiated was the first subspecialty training program ever approved by Moi University and the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa. Since it began in 2013, this program has graduated six fellows and two more are in training. Kenya now has seven gynecologic oncologists, with five trained in this program. The only gynecologic oncologists in Uganda were trained at Moi University.
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Barry Rosen, MD, FRCSC
- Section head of Gynecologic Oncology, Beaumont Health
- Professor, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Dr. Rosen graduated from medical school at the University of Western Ontario in 1977. He interned at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, B.C., and then worked for a year as a family doctor. He completed his Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at McMaster University in 1983 and his fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology between McMaster University and the University of Toronto in 1985.
After completing his fellowship, Dr. Rosen joined the University of Toronto’s faculty as an assistant professor, working at both the Princess Margaret Hospital and Toronto General Hospital (later to become University Health Network – UHN). In 1996, he was appointed associate professor and in 2010, professor, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was appointed head of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Toronto in 2001 and in 2008, head of Gynecologic Oncology at UHN. In 2003, he initiated a Gynecologic Oncology program at Credit Valley Hospital. Dr. Rosen was on staff at Princess Margaret Hospital from 1985 to 2015.
From an academic perspective, Dr. Rosen has published over 140 peer-reviewed papers and has given a similar number of peer-reviewed presentations. One focus of research has been in hereditary ovarian cancer. In addition, he has established clinical databases in Gynecologic Oncology at UHN, which has provided data for outcome research. Dr. Rosen also worked with CPAC to promote the strategies to collect point of care clinical data.
In June 2015, Dr. Rosen moved to Michigan. He is now section head of Gynecologic Oncology for Beaumont Health and a professor at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.
Dr. Mark Walton

Dr. Mark Walton
“Dr. Walton has always been a dedicated and passionate educator and has exceptionally committed himself to the betterment of medical students on a global scale.”
Dr. Walton’s recent international work includes facilitating the formal collaboration between the Royal College and Kuwait Institute for Medical Specializations. He also currently serves as an invited expert and consultant for the collaborative on postgraduate medical training.
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Mark Walton, MD, FRCSC
- Vice dean, Faculty Affairs, McMaster University
- Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, McMaster University
Dr. Walton has been involved in medical education since 1993 when he came on faculty as a pediatric surgeon at McMaster University. He has been a professor of surgery since 2007 and was named the inaugural vice dean of Faculty Affairs. In that role, he focuses on professionalism, equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenous health. Prior to this, he was assistant dean of postgraduate medical education (2004-2016) at McMaster and the General Surgery program director (1999-2004).
Dr. Walton is the past chair of the Postgraduate Management Committee for the Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine, and the past chair of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada’s Standing Committee on Postgraduate Medical Education. He was a member of the Royal College Accreditation Committee (and its steering committee) from 2004-2010 and has participated in numerous accreditation visits over the last 10 years as a surveyor, deputy chair and chair. He was involved in the Future of Medical Education Postgraduate project, as well as the redesign of the CanMEDS Framework for the 2015 launch. Dr. Walton was vice chair of the Royal College Committee on Specialties and of the Royal College Specialty Committee for Pediatric Surgery. He is now chair of the Royal College Committee on Specialty Education.
Dr. Walton’s professional interests include mentoring medical educators and residents, leadership development, systems for human health resource (HHR) planning, the costing of postgraduate education and transitions in academic careers. He consults on approaches to academic health care careers and sits on numerous committees related to HHR. In addition he has an active clinical practice in Pediatric Surgery.