Dr. Sevtap Savas may have been singled out for her advocacy work with a national award, but she says the recognition is not for her alone.

The Faculty of Medicine professor of human genetics at Memorial University has been named to Western Union’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrant list.

“I received this award for all immigrants, all international students, staff and faculty at Memorial University,” said Dr. Savas, who was born in Türkiye and moved to Newfoundland and Labrador in late 2008.

She also says she hopes being named to the list has a knock-on effect of more immigrants in the province being recognized for their contributions to Memorial “and beyond.”

“I thank everyone I have worked with, particularly my students, assistants and patient/public partners, for everything we have achieved together,” she said. “I am excited to represent my home country Turkiye and my adopted home Newfoundland and Labrador in everything I do.”

National award

The award recognizes inspirational immigrants who have made a positive impact on their communities since arriving in Canada.

As the first Canadian national award program, the Western Union Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards recognizes the achievements of all immigrants including community advocates, volunteers, successful entrepreneurs and cultural icons.

Dr. Savas’s research areas at Memorial are the role of genetic variation and their relation to clinical outcomes in individuals with a history of cancer; bioinformatics applications and establishment of biological databases; social outcomes and their predictors in individuals affected by cancer, and public engagement.

Her role includes teaching, training new scientists, working with community partners, community outreach, advocating for patients and families affected by cancer and helping address cancer and its effects.

Public involvement

She also leads the Public Interest Group on Cancer Research and actively engages with members of the general public through media, social media and public events.

The group is a patient-scientist partnership that promotes public knowledge on cancer, helps create research studies and advocates for cancer patients.

Dr. Savas has expanded this concept to the Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee.

Learn more about Dr. Savas’ work on her website.