The Don R. Lipsitt award from the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (which is an international organisation based in the USA) recognises an individual who has demonstrated excellence and innovation in the integration of mental health with other medical care through collaborative care.
Dr. Walker was given the award in recognition of her research and clinical care for people suffering with cancer.
"I feel very honoured to receive this prestigious award for my research and clinical work with people who have cancer. It has always been important to me, as a doctor and a researcher, to improve the care that we provide for people who are seriously ill. We can only do that properly if we recognise that psychiatric illnesses, like depression, can have terrible effects on people's lives and that we need to work just as hard to help patients with their depression as we do with their cancer. That means having experts in the mental and the physical aspects of illness working together on the same teams. I am very proud to have made some contribution to that happening."