Sept. 6, 2022

Two UCalgary faculty members named to the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists

Recognition celebrates the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership
Fiona Clement and Melanie Noel
Fiona Clement and Melanie Noel

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) has announced the selection of two UCalgary faculty members to join the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. The College is Canada’s national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership.

Dr. Fiona Clement, PhD; and Dr. Melanie Noel, PhD, will be inducted into the College at a ceremony in November, to be held in Calgary. The scholars were selected for this honour based on academic excellence and glowing nominations from their leaders and peers.

“The University of Calgary would like to congratulate Drs. Clement and Noel for being selected for the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists,” says Dr. Ed McCauley, president of the University of Calgary and Fellow of the RSC. “They are part of an emerging generation of academic leaders, and we are tremendously proud that they have received this prestigious recognition of their scholarly excellence.”

Dr. Fiona Clement, PhD

Professor and Department Head, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine

Clement is a professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary and director of the Health Technology Assessment Unit. With 165 publications, 58 government reports, 5,894 citations, and an H-index of 44, she has extensive expertise in health economics and policy and is a national leader in evidence-informed policy development. She is an international leader in the emerging field of health technology reassessment that addresses optimal application of health technologies in healthcare.

In 2014, Clement was selected as the Canadian Harkness Fellow in Health-Care Policy and Practice; the only person from Alberta to ever be awarded this fellowship. She has also received the Maurice McGregor Award for outstanding leadership and excellence in HTA in Canada. In 2015, she was named one of Calgary’s Top 40 under 40 for her work in health policy and in 2020, one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

Read more about Clement’s research and teaching.

Clement is a member of the O’Brien Institute for Public Health at the Cumming School of Medicine.

Dr. Melanie Noel, PhD, RPsych

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts

Noel holds the Killam Memorial Emerging Leader Chair and is an internationally renowned expert on children’s acute and chronic pain. She applies a transdisciplinary, integrative approach to science that unifies methods across psychology, neuroscience, genomics, and medicine. Noel has published guiding conceptual models of children’s pain memory development, co-occurring PTSD and chronic pain, and fear-avoidance. 

In recognition of her contributions to advancing knowledge of the psychological aspects of children’s pain, Noel received early career awards from the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), the Canadian Pain Society, the American Pain Society, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the Society of Pediatric Psychology. In 2017, she was named Avenue Magazine Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40, and in 2020, a Killam Emerging Research Leader.

Read more about Noel’s study to help children overcome vaccine needle fear and her research and teaching.

Noel is a member of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), Owerko Centre at ACHRI, the Hotchkiss Brain Institute(HBI) and The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education at the HBI at the Cumming School of Medicine.

Nominations for the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists is currently open and will close on Dec. 1, 2022.  The Royal Society is the recognized pre-eminent body of independent scholars, researchers, and creative people in Canada whose Fellows comprise a collegium that can provide intellectual leadership for the betterment of Canada and the world. The College is Canada’s first national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership. Nominations must be made by a current Fellow or a Member of the College. 

To learn more about the awards and how to nominate a scholar, visit the Research website. Nominations for this award are eligible for review by the SUPPORT: Research Awards Committee. RSO is hosting a nomination information session with Royal Society of Canada program staff on September 8, 2022. Register here.