Join RCIScience for a special evening with André Picard, winner of this year’s Fleming Medal for Excellence in Science Communication! André is the health columnist at The Globe and Mail and author of six bestselling books.
Following presentation of the Fleming Medal and special remarks from The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Mr. Picard will join science communicator and influencer Science Sam for an intimate conversation about his career to date and his experiences on the front lines of health reporting in Canada. Get your questions ready and learn how journalism became a public health tool during a crisis.
About André Picard
André Picard is the health columnist at The Globe and Mail, where he has been a staff writer since 1987. He is also the author of six bestselling books, including his most recent Neglected No More: The Urgent Need to Improve the Lives of Canada's Elders in the Wake of a Pandemic.
André has received much acclaim for his writing, including the prestigious Michener Award for Meritorious Public Service Journalism and the Canadian Journalism Foundation Tribute Award. In 2020, he was named Canada’s top newspaper columnist at the National Newspaper Awards.
André’s advocacy for better, more equitable health care has been honoured by many professional and consumer groups; he was named Canada’s first Public Health Hero by the Canadian Public Health Association, a Champion of Mental Health by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, and received the Owen Adams Award, the Canadian Medical Association top honour for a non-physician.
André is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, and has received honorary doctorates from seven universities, including the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia.
About Dr. Samantha Yammine
Photo credit: Al Quintero Photography
Samantha Yammine is a Neuroscientist and popular Science Communicator better known as Science Sam. She earned her PhD from the University of Toronto studying how stem cells build and maintain the brain, and then went on to found Science Sam Media, a science-based digital production agency.
She is passionate about empowering people to explore science by making it more familiar, accessible, and inclusive. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she's been sharing the science behind the headlines as @science.sam on Instagram and Tik Tok, garnering millions of views every month to better help people assess risk, spot misinformation, and have informed discussions with their friends and family.
She has been a guest Science Correspondent for a variety of shows on Netflix, TVO Kids, CBC GEM, Discovery UK, CBC Radio, and AsapSCIENCE. She sits on the Board of Trustees for RCIScience, Advisory Board for the anti-misinformation organization ScienceUpFirst, and the Editorial Board of the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers. Learn more and get in touch at samanthayammine.com.