Checking in with 2022 Glenda MacQueen Award recipient Dr. Margaret Hahn
It’s been a busy, but rewarding, eighteen months for Dr. Margaret Hahn since being celebrated as the second recipient of the annual Glenda M. MacQueen Memorial Career Development Award for Women in Psychiatry.
The clinician-scientist has assumed several leadership roles and was promoted to full professor at the University of Toronto’s psychiatry department in 2023. This is in addition to ongoing clinical and lab work at the Centre for Addition and Mental Health on the early relationships between psychosis spectrum disorders and cardiometabolic health.
“This past year and a half has been a whirlwind,” Dr. Hahn said.
It’s included time spent in Denmark, where she’s been helping to build a mental health and metabolic clinic similar to the clinic she leads at CAMH. This clinic is now in place in Denmark, and it is being tested through a federally funded clinical trial. It’s a program she hopes to see grow internationally.
In late April, she delivered her professorial lecture at the University of Toronto.
“It was stressful to prepare, but extremely rewarding,” she said.
“Especially since I was able to highlight Dr. MacQueen’s contribution to my career trajectory, as well as that of the late Prof. Mary Seeman, a role model of mine, who sadly passed away last month.”
Dr. Hahn was presented with the Glenda MacQueen Award in October 2022 at the Canadian Psychiatric Association’s (CPA) annual conference. An initiative of the CPA, the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction and the family of the late Dr. Glenda MacQueen, the award was established to continue Dr. MacQueen’s legacy of exceptional contributions to psychiatry and the advancement of equity for women in academia.
The annual $100,000 award is intended to support early- to mid-career researchers in academic psychiatry who demonstrate commitment to supporting other women within the field. Dr. Hahn, who leads a team of predominantly women from diverse backgrounds in her lab and clinic, proved to be an exceptional fit.
“This award has allowed me more time to engage in academic leadership, a focus I’m keen to see continue,” said the Toronto-based researcher,who also sits on the CPA’s Research Committee and provides mentorship as the co-chair of their Junior Investigator Research Colloquium.
“It’s acted as a catalyst in the acceleration of my academic trajectory. I am very grateful for this, and I believe that thanks to this award, I will continue to advance research and knowledge in metabolic psychiatry on a national and international scale.”
The funding has allowed Dr. Hahn to protect her research time, she noted, increasing her ability to supervise students and prepare grants and publications. This research includes her work as a core member of a team developing Schizophrenia Global Guidelines, which they plan on publishing and disseminating in 2025.
Around 70 per cent of the students under her guidance are women, and Dr. Hahn emphasized their recent successes in obtaining external funding and travel awards. Much of the Glenda MacQueen Award funding was directed to supporting the salaries of women trainees on her team.
“Through increased research time I’ve been able to devote more time to mentorship, which continues to be one of the most rewarding aspects of my career,” she added.
“I will continue to prioritize this mentorship and trainee development, especially when it comes to promoting women. Through the accelerated research productivity this award has afforded, I hope I see continued success in recruitment and training for talented women in psychiatry and science.”
The application period for the fourth annual Glenda M. MacQueen Memorial Career Development Award will launch in late 2024. For more information on applications and eligibility, visit the CPA or CIHR-INMHA website.
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