At the end of March, Michelle Murray retired from her role as Training and Mentoring Coordinator for Diabetes Action Canada. Michelle has been an integral part of the DAC team since the organization’s inception in 2016.

“Michelle has played a pivotal role in developing our Training and Mentoring program, ensuring all members were well-equipped to start their journey in patient-oriented research. Her support for early career investigators and her adaptability as we transitioned our research methods have been invaluable as we built this Network,” says Diabetes Action Canada’s Executive Director, Tracy McQuire.

Starting her career as an elementary teacher, Michelle later transitioned into research, taking on roles that allowed her to project manage and navigate the administrative side of projects. She enjoyed the challenge of coordinating all of the people and processes that need to come together for a successful outcome.

Michelle connected with Diabetes Action Canada through DAC researcher, Dr. Mathieu Bélanger, who is a professor at the Université de Sherbrooke. He suggested she take on the role as Training and Mentoring Coordinator at DAC.

The role is one that she has enjoyed immensely, as it allowed her the opportunity to learn and grow while mentoring the next generation of leaders in patient-oriented research. She loved the challenge of putting together a training program from scratch, alongside Bélanger and DAC’s Scientific co-lead, Dr. André Carpentier. The feedback they received was very gratifying, knowing that they had created a program that was actually helping trainees and improving their career paths.

Michelle was also very inspired by the opportunity to work with Patient Partners. “Getting to know them and work with them, and seeing how much work they do and how much focus and drive they have is incredible,” she says. “I’m really proud of the relationships I was able to build with the Patient Partners.”

She has also enjoyed the diverse range of work projects she’s been part of at DAC. For the last two years, she has worked with Dr. André Tchernof on the MyRoad training platform. She has also supported the Knowledge Mobilization team through moderating focus groups – something she had never done before and thoroughly enjoyed. “I really got out of my comfort zone for a lot of things,” she shares. “It was a really good experience with lots of insights—you’re learning constantly.”

Now, Michelle is looking forward to even more challenges as she heads into retirement. She is planning to travel, help her daughter transition to post-secondary education, and volunteer with local organizations. She laughs that as a volunteer she does not want to coordinate, but to be the hands-on help, to stuff bags or move boxes—however she can be a helping hand.

For everyone at DAC, Michelle will be missed. However, her contributions to our programs will have a lasting impact.

Read Michelle’s Kudos board.

Story by Krista Lamb