William Fisher, Adrian Owen named as Royal Society of Canada Fellows

September 13, 2022

William Fisher and Adrian Owen, Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada- with notes from Keri Fergurson, Western News

William Fisher, and Adrian Owen are among the new Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), as part of the RSC's class of 2022.

Fellows of the RSC are distinguished Canadians from all branches of learning who have made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life.

Fisher, professor emeritus and adjunct research professor in the department of psychology and the department of obstetrics and gynecology, is an internationally recognized scientist whose work has profoundly affected the health of men and women worldwide. His research concerning the promotion of health behaviour change is pioneering and his Information-Motivation-Behavioural Skills (IMB) model has reshaped the science of prevention. The world’s foremost public health agencies have applied the IMB model in health promotion efforts, including in the recent focus on vaccine acceptance and sexual consent. 

Owen is a professor of cognitive neuroscience and imaging and the former Canada Excellence Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging. His research combines structural and functional neuroimaging with neuropsychological studies of brain-injured patients. Owen is best known for showing that functional neuroimaging can reveal conscious awareness in some patients who appear to be entirely vegetative and can even allow some of these individuals to communicate their thoughts and wishes to the outside world. 

Seven faculty members from Western University were honoured by the RSC in 2022.

Other RSC Fellows in the Faculty of Social Science include Jonathan Vance and Maya Shatzmiller, in the department of History and Mel Goodale, in the department of Psychology.

The RSC also awards membership in the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists representing the emerging generation of scholarly, scientific and artistic leadership in Canada. Current members of the college include Jessica Grahn, department of Psychology, William Turkel, department of History, and Laura Huey, department of Sociology.