AHPA Lifetime Achievement Award

This award honours an AHPA member who has made a significant contribution during their work career in the areas of clinical practice, research, education, academics and/or administration. This award is given to an individual who has demonstrated excellence through such characteristics as mentorship, initiative, quality, innovation, leadership, enthusiasm, and ongoing commitment in Rheumatology.

Eligibility:
Only AHPA members are eligible

Governing Committee: 
AHPA membership and nominations committee chairs
Chaired by the AHPA president

Application:
Please consider submitting a nomination letter on behalf of a deserving colleague. A nomination letter should include the following information:

  • A description of the achievements that would warrant this candidate being given a lifetime achievement award.
  • Consideration of how the candidate has brought honour to the profession throughout his/her career lifetime.
  • How this candidate has modeled mentorship, innovation, enthusiasm, and ongoing commitment in arthritis care.
  • Why this candidate is deserving of an AHPA Lifetime Achievement Award
  • A copy of the candidate’s current CV.

Please forward your submission to: membership@ahpa.ca

Deadline for Applications:
December every year

Presentation:
This award is given out at the CRA Annual Scientific meeting

Award:
$500.00

 SB

2025 AHPA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

Dr. Susan Bartlett

This award is given to a candidate who has brought honour to the profession throughout their career lifetime by modeling mentorship, innovation, enthusiasm, and ongoing commitment in arthritis care. This year’s recipient is Dr. Susan Bartlett. Susan’s dedication, innovation, and leadership have left a lasting impact on the rheumatology community and improved countless patients’ lives.

Susan is a highly accomplished member of AHPA and internationally recognized. Among her educational accomplishments, she received her Master of Education in Counseling Psychology from McGill University, a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Syracuse University, and subsequently honed her expertise through a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She has been a licensed psychologist since 1988 and has advanced academically to become a tenured Professor of Medicine at McGill University specializing in Clinical Epidemiology, Rheumatology, and Respiratory Epidemiology. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Rheumatology, and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

As an educator and advocate, Susan has profoundly impacted the next generation of interdisciplinary health professionals. She has taught a wide range of courses on topics like outcome measures in rheumatology, adherence in pediatric rheumatology, behavior change, and digital health innovations, to name a few. Beyond her lectures, she has mentored countless trainees from diverse fields, including counselling psychology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, kinesiology, medicine, and more.

Susan has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to rheumatology through active roles in the Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP), a membership division of the ACR, the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT), and of course AHPA with focus on our research committee. She also contributed to numerous grant review panels for esteemed organizations like the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Arthritis Society Canada, Arthritis Alliance of Canada, and many more.

Susan’s groundbreaking research has transformed arthritis care. Her RCT on yoga for arthritis demonstrated significant benefits in physical health, mobility, mood, and quality of life, inspiring the development of an accessible, recorded arthritis-friendly yoga resource. She developed tools like the OMERACT RA Flare Questionnaire to better measure disease activity based on patient priorities. She also co-founded PROMIS-Canada [or Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Canada], advancing patient-centered outcomes research with work being done to translate and culturally validate a number of the PROMIS item banks into French.

Some of Susan’s accolades include four AHPA Carolyn Thomas Research Awards, recognition from the ACR, the Laurentian Rheumatology Society, the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and the YWCA Foundation of Montreal, American Thoracic Society Lifetime Achievement Award, and the prestigious ARP Master Award, honoring her exceptional contributions to rheumatology.

Susan’s lifetime dedication to teaching, mentorship, and patient-centered research has transformed rheumatology care and inspired countless interdisciplinary health professionals and researchers. Her efforts bridge the gap between research and practice, bringing us closer to our AHPA vision of optimal care and quality of life for every Canadian living with arthritis. It is with great pride and gratitude that we celebrate Dr. Susan Bartlett as the recipient of the 2025 AHPA Lifetime Achievement Award. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor!


View Past Award Winners