Dr. Dominique Geoffrion named one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women

The 2022 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award recognized Geoffrion for her academic accomplishments and her involvement in global ophthalmology. She was named a winner in the RBC Future Launch Future Leader category for her innovation, creation and execution of original bold ideas.

Geoffrion will graduate from her medical degree at McGill University in 2023. As part of McGill's MD-PhD program, she completed her PhD degree in Experimental Surgery and Ophthalmology at McGill University. Prior to that, she received her Honors Bachelor's degree in Biomedical sciences from the Université de Montréal in 2017. She has completed extensive research in the fields of molecular biology, cancer genetics, and ophthalmology, specifically on the Boston keratoprosthesis. She has published several articles and also acts as a reviewer for ophthalmology journals.

For her leadership and research endeavours, Geoffrion has won numerous scholarships and awards, including from the prestigious Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Ophthalmological Society, and several international societies. Since 2021, she sits as the youngest member on the Board of Directors of Orbis Canada where she advocates for patients and to improve ocular health in underserved settings.

At Orbis Canada, Geoffrion has had an incredible impact, helping to found and lead our Orbis Future Vision Leaders program, which brings together Canadian medical students and ophthalmology residents with an interest in global health. This community of students has developed fundraisers, education events and networking opportunities to support the work of Orbis Canada while nurturing the next generation of global health leaders.

Geoffrion was humbled to receive this award and to spend two days in Toronto with other winners, celebrating their accomplishments and sharing stories about their work and careers. “It was wonderful to meet such inspiring and devoted women who are making the world a better place,” she says.

The theme of the awards ceremony was to “Live your truth”. As Geoffrion thinks about how she lives her own truth, she says she always strives to follow her core values and what she believes in. The most important lesson she has learned over her career is that, “thinking outside the box sometimes may be the most rational solution.”

Geoffrion was truly honored to receive this award. "I am lucky to have had strong and inspiring women as mentors in my life, and I can’t imagine being where I am today without their support,” she says.