Allan Ronald

Making a difference has been Dr. Allan Ronald’s mantra—in his community, on the global stage, and especially in the battle against the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

The eminent Manitoban has had a long and distinguished career in medicine and public health. After completing one year of Science study at United College, Ronald studied Medicine at the University of Manitoba graduating in 1961. He then spent seven years in postgraduate training in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Microbiology at the Universities of Washington and Maryland.

Named Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Ronald enjoyed a notable academic career at the University of Manitoba from 1968 to 1999. He is the author, or co-author, of more than 400 publications and has served as Governor of the American College of Physicians and as President of the International Society for Infectious Diseases. Ronald is the recipient of many awards including the Order of Canada, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and the F.N.G. Starr Award, the highest honour awarded by the Canadian Medical Association.

Ronald’s long and productive contribution to the fight against AIDS began in 1980 as a founding member of the U of M/University of Nairobi World Health Organization Research and Training Program in Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The project led to groundbreaking findings solving some of the major mysteries surrounding the transmission and spread of AIDS. It has been called the most import research site in the developing world for HIV/AIDS with 700 abstracts or publications arising from it. It has also been pivotal in understanding the disease in Africa and resulted in important programs to help prevent the spread of the HIV/AIDS.

In a world where 6,500 people die from AIDS in Africa every day and new orphans are created every 14 seconds, Ronald feels a responsibility to do his part. He is presently overseeing the training of doctors and nurses in HIV/AIDS treatment in Uganada as part of the Academic Alliance for AIDS Care and Prevention in Africa.

Ronald was also at the forefront of the bid to house Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. “This world class lab has been incredible and is an important resource in bringing science professionals to Winnipeg,” he said with pride. “It is so successful here and great for our city.”

For Ronald, receiving an HD from The University of Winnipeg is a humbling honour. “It’s wonderful and means a lot to be recognized by the academic community,” he said. “There is the sense that one can’t be acknowledged when you stay within one city and one academic community and I think you can. We have to believe that we can be the best in Winnipeg.”

The University of Winnipeg is proud to present Dr. Allan Ronald with an Honorary Doctor of Science today for his global work in combating the AIDS pandemic; his impressive contribution to the scientific literature and to training a generation of Canadian researchers in Infectious Diseases; and, his role in shaping public health policy in Canada and Africa.