McGill University medical students achieved notable success at the 2025 annual meeting of the American Osler Society (AOS) in Pasadena, California, where they won top prizes for their presentations and showcased the university's strength in medical humanities research. The meeting, which brought together physicians, researchers, and students globally, underscored the enduring relevance of medical history in contemporary practice.
Paris Dastjerdi earned first prize for her presentation "Restoring Avicenna's Tomb: A Historical Analysis of William Osler's Efforts," while Meygan Brody received third prize for "Justifying Judgment: How Canadian Temperance Textbooks Use Medicine to Teach Morality." Reda Hessi also presented on "Harold Griffith and Sir Robert Macintosh: Untold Stories of Curare's Journey to the Operating Room." Since the Best Medical Student Presentations awards began in 2023, McGill students have won six of nine prizes, including first prize each year.
The Bernadett Family International Medical Student Scholarship Program, established in 2024, provided funding for Hessi to conduct a four-week research project in London titled "The Reception of Curare in Medicine and the Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry." The program, created on behalf of Faustino Bernadett and his family, enables students to pursue medical humanities research in the United Kingdom. Hessi expressed gratitude for the opportunity, noting it would enrich his research and broaden his perspective. Details about the scholarship program can be found at americanosler.org.
The meeting also featured McGill alumni Brendan Ross, a psychiatry resident at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, who served as both presenter and session chair, and Ali Fazlollahi, a recent graduate and previous Molina award winner. Annmarie Adams delivered the McGovern Lecture, "Maude Abbott: A Life in Ten Spaces," exploring Abbott's pioneering studies on congenital cardiac disease and her relationship with William Osler.
The AOS meeting emphasized the intersection of medicine and the humanities, with McGill's participation advancing this mission. The contributions of the Osler Library Board of Curators and the Montreal community supported students' attendance. For more on Faustino Bernadett's philanthropy, visit bernadett.org.
