Dr. Nadine Caron has been inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in recognition of her transformative leadership in Indigenous health and surgical practice.
Dr. Caron is a senior scientist with BC Cancer's Genome Sciences Centre, co-director of the UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health and a professor in UBC's department of surgery and Northern Medical Program, which is delivered in partnership with the University of Northern British Columbia.
She is among six individuals who were inducted into the CMHF for 2025. The distinction honours Canadian citizens whose outstanding leadership and contributions to medicine and the health sciences have led to extraordinary improvements in human health.
"I am truly humbled," said Dr. Caron. "This is recognition of all those individuals who believed in and supported me with my hopes and dreams, which have really only started and that I will one day pass on. This honour is a symbol of what family, friends, colleagues and community can do when we all wish for a tomorrow that is better for our children."
A member of the Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, Dr. Caron was the first female First Nations student to graduate from the UBC Faculty of Medicine and the first female Indigenous general surgeon in Canada.
As a surgical oncologist working in northern British Columbia, Dr. Caron has led ground-breaking projects focused on cancer, personalized medicine, and health care services in rural and remote settings. This work addresses stark disparities in health outcomes for Indigenous communities – a driving goal of Dr. Caron's contributions to research, medical education and clinical care.
In 2020, Dr. Caron was appointed as the inaugural First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) Chair in Cancer and Wellness at UBC, where she is developing strategies to better understand, prevent and address cancers among Indigenous peoples in B.C. and Canada.
This position was created following research led by Dr. Caron that illustrated how rates of some cancers are higher, and survival rates for almost all cancer types are lower, for First Nations people compared with non-First Nations people in B.C. This research underpins B.C's Indigenous Cancer Strategy – a partnership between BC Cancer, FNHA, Métis Nation British Columbia and the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres.
"The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is proud to celebrate Canadian excellence and achievement in health, and we welcome these six individuals whose outstanding contributions have made Canada, and the world, a better place," said Dr. Lehana Thabane, CMHF chair. "Their impact is well documented, and they have earned their place alongside our 161 Laureates."
In 2014, Dr. Caron co-founded the UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health to advance Indigenous people's health through culturally relevant innovation, education and research. She also led the establishment of the UBC Indigenous Public Health Program, Canada's first Indigenous-focused graduate certificate in public health. These efforts to create and share culturally informed care models set new standards for patient-centred approaches.
Dr. Caron is director of the Northern BC BioBank Initiative, which is improving access for people in northern communities to participate in, and benefit from, clinical and genomic research focused on disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment. She is also an associate faculty member with the Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health.
As an educator, researcher and health care leader, Dr. Caron has made tremendous contributions toward equitable and safe health care for underserved populations, and continues to inspire current and future generations of doctors, health professionals and learners.
This article has been adapted from its original version. Read the UBC Faculty of Medicine article here.
Photo credit: Martin Dee, The University of British Columbia
