Iyabode Lanre Tunji-Ajayi, M.S.M.
Barrie, Ontario
Founder of the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario, Lanre Tunji-Ajayi has played a key role in demystifying sickle cell anemia in Canada. Actively involved in the cause, she co-founded and served as the first president of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada, where she ensured newborn screening in many provinces and, together with federal parliamentarians, helped to create National Sickle Cell Awareness Day, held each year on June 19, since 2018.