Camilla Zimmermann, MD, PhD, FRCPC

Mid-Career Excellence in Graduate Teaching & Mentorship
Graduate Faculty Teaching Awards

Biography

Dr. Zimmermann obtained her BSc and MDCM degrees at McGill University, followed by an MSc in Public Health, and a PhD at the Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto. She is now a Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, where she is also Head and Lederman Chair, Department of Supportive Care. She is Professor of Medicine and the inaugural Director of the University of Toronto’s Division of Palliative Medicine in the Department of Medicine. She is internationally known for her research on palliative and supportive cancer care, particularly in testing novel models of early, integrated palliative care for patients with advanced cancer. She co-designed the graduate course, AGE-1000, Multidisciplinary Concepts in Palliative and Supportive Care Research. She has held uninterrupted funding as PI for >15 years, has supervised >65 students, and has received several research awards, including the William E. Rawls Prize by the Canadian Cancer Society

Summary of Award Work

Dr. Zimmermann has made a significant impact on graduate education in the Institute of Medical Science, by mentoring many successful graduate students in her research group, ensuring her graduate students are recognized as authors on manuscripts and her capability to teach complex topics in an easy-to-understand manner makes the material accessible to her diverse audience.

From the Nomination

She “fosters a supportive and empowering learning environment in which we are given the independence to devise and enact our own research plans, while also providing us with guidance in the form of honest and constructive feedback.”

“She meets formally with trainees in weekly team meetings and additional one-on-one meetings, devising approaches and strategies to ensure their progress and emotional and mental well-being”

About the Award

This award was established in 2002 to recognize sustained contribution to graduate student mentorship exemplified by, but not limited to: major involvement in graduate student learning, enthusiastic and empathic critical appraisal of students’ work, timely assessment of students’ research programs including program advisory committee meetings and prompt turnaround of written work, and careful attention to a critical path laid out for students’ research.