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Convocation

Nancy F. Olivieri


May 2012 Honorary Degree Recipient

Doctor of Laws (honoris causa)

“Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.” These words from Confucius are as pertinent now as they were nearly twenty-five hundred years ago.

For today we welcome Dr. Nancy Olivieri, a woman who has the courage of her convictions. A courage that has certainly been tested. In the 1990s, Dr. Olivieri was a central figure in a high-profile controversy involving patients in clinical trials, a drug company, a hospital and a university. Despite the risks to her career, Dr. Olivieri put her concerns for patient safety first, and above all else.

We are recognizing Dr. Olivieri for two reasons: for taking a courageous stand that helped bring issues of medical ethics to the forefront of our collective consciousness, and for her national and international research in blood disorders. In both of these realms, Dr. Olivieri has chosen to look beyond herself in order to advance the greater good.

Dr. Olivieri, Senior Scientist at the Toronto General Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine and Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto, has a special focus on two blood disorders -- thalassemia and sickle cell disease. Her work has been published extensively, including in The New England Journal of Medicine, Blood and The Lancet. Her research has been funded by organizations such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; National Institutes of Health; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and the Thalassemia Foundation of Canada.

Along with working in Canada, Dr. Olivieri is active internationally. Her efforts, with those of Sir David Weatherall and others, were instrumental in creating the National Thalassemia Centre in Sri Lanka. Dr. Olivieri is also executive director of Hemoglobal, a charity in Sri Lanka that she and her group established to help children with thalassemia.

Dr. Olivieri earned a master’s degree in medical ethics and law from King’s College London in 2003. Given the controversy she’d experienced in the ‘90s, she brought a unique perspective to her studies. And her exploration of the subject didn’t end when she received her degree.

Dr. Jocelyn Downie, ±«Óătv Professor and Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, said in nominating Dr. Olivieri for today’s honor:
“...She has worked tirelessly to advance the development of policy and practice that will promote clinical research without compromising the protection of research participants and the downstream users of research results.”

Such understanding must begin at the student level, which helps explain why Dr. Olivieri developed an undergraduate course called Health and Pharmaceuticals. The course examines the impact of the drug industry on research, medicine and health. Ìę

Dr. Olivieri is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in both internal medicine and hematology, and a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

She has been honored repeatedly for her work, having received the Outstanding Contribution to Health and Well Being in the Global Village Award from the Women’s Intercultural Network; a Spirit of Ontario Award from the National Congress of Italian Canadians; a Community Champion Award from the Civil Justice Foundation; and the Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage from the Shafeek Nader Trust for the Community Interest. She holds honorary degrees from the University of Windsor, Simon Fraser University and the University of Winnipeg.

In 2009, the American Association for the Advancement of Science presented Dr. Olivieri its Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility. The association noted:

“Nancy Olivieri is honoured for her indefatigable determination that patient safety and research integrity come before institutional and commercial interests and for her courage in defending these principles in the face of severe consequences.”

For this courage and for her gifts as a researcher here and abroad, I ask you, Mr. Chancellor, in the name of the Senate, to bestow upon Dr. Nancy Olivieri the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

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