AGE-WELL Honorary Fellows
The AGE-WELL Honorary Fellow Award recognizes members who have made long-term and substantial contributions to research and innovation in the AgeTech sector, as well as a significant contribution to AGE-WELL.
Our sincere gratitude to the recipients:
Roger Marple
2022 AGE-WELL Honorary Fellow Award
Roger Marple was a powerful advocate for people living with dementia. He served on AGE-WELL’s Older Adult and Caregiver Advisory Committee as member-at-large, Alberta, collaborated on AGE-WELL research projects and supported future leaders in AgeTech. Since his diagnosis with dementia in 2015, he made it his mission to dispel myths about the disease and the stigma associated with it. Marple was on the board of directors of the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, and also served on an Alzheimer Society of Canada advisory group. We were deeply saddened by his death in October 2022. Read more.
Dr. Sandra McKay
2021 AGE-WELL Honorary Fellow Award
Dr. Sandra McKay is Vice President of Research & Innovation at VHA Home HealthCare, and an assistant professor at the Institute of Health Policy Management & Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Dr. McKay has been a steadfast supporter of AGE-WELL and its mandate for many years. She has contributed to AGE-WELL in countless ways, serving on the Research Management Committee and the Industry Advisory Group. Her dedication to and efforts within the AGE-WELL network have been of great benefit to researchers, startups, trainees and AGE-WELL itself. Read more.
Dr. Susan Kirkland
2020 AGE-WELL Honorary Fellow Award
Dr. Susan Kirkland, a professor at Dalhousie University, is a member of AGE-WELL’s Board of Directors, where she brings critical insight as a researcher. Her commitment to meaningful inclusion and engagement of older adults in research has helped shape the approach to “co-creation” for which AGE-WELL is revered.
She has been instrumental in the development of game-changing studies around older adults and technology in her role as project lead with OA-INVOLVE and as one of three principal investigators since the inception of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Read more.
Ron Beleno
2020 AGE-WELL Honorary Fellow Award
Ron Beleno is a dedicated advocate in the caregiving space. He helped lead the formation of the AGE-WELL Older Adult and Caregiver Advisory Committee (OACAC), and serves as committee co-chair. Beleno looked after his father, who had Alzheimer’s disease, for the last 10 years of his life. He brings his wisdom and lived experience as a caregiver to many AGE-WELL research projects. His selection as a recipient of the 2020 AGE-WELL Honorary Fellow Award recognizes his passion for technology and his tireless efforts as a dementia and caregiving advocate. Read more.
Dr. Alan Mackworth
2019 AGE-WELL Honorary Fellow Award
A Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Dr. Mackworth is the former chair of AGE-WELL’s International Scientific Advisory Committee and was a member of AGE-WELL’s Board of Directors from 2015 to 2018. He is widely known for his accomplishments in the field of artificial intelligence. As the founding director of the Laboratory for Computational Intelligence at UBC, Dr. Mackworth has played a leading role in establishing one of Canada’s and, indeed, the world’s leading AI groups. Read more.