[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/coleman_daniel.jpg” caption=”Wendy and Daniel Coleman celebrate with Juliet Daniel at the African-Canadian Achievement Awards reception. Photo courtesy of Juliet Daniel. “]Juliet Daniel, associate professor in the Department of Biology, is the recipient of an African-Canadian Achievement Award of Excellence (ACAA). She received the award in Toronto last month in recognition of her contributions to cancer research, which include the discovery of a new gene.

The awards celebrate the achievements and contributions of African Canadians to their community and to Canada. Established in 1985, the awards are hosted annually by Pride News Magazine.

Daniel, who received an award for Excellence in Science, joins a prestigious list of ACAA recipients, including jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, broadcaster Jo Jo Chinto and former Ontario lieutenant-governor Lincoln Alexander.

After receiving a PhD in microbiology from the University of British Columbia, she spent six years as a post-doctoral research fellow at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis and Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Her research has been published in several top scientific journals, including Molecular Cell Biology and the Journal of Cell Science.

In addition to the ACAA, Daniel is also the recipient of the Ontario Premier Research Excellence Award, the American Association for Cancer Research Minority Scholar Travel Award and the Barbados American Cancer Assocation Scientific Achievement Award.