News & Media
Neuro News - September 2005
Director's Corner - The Neuro Convocation and Lifetime Achievement Awards Ceremony
It was a great pleasure to recognize the achievements of six honoured guests at this year’s Neuro Convocation and Lifetime Achievement Awards Ceremony on September 12th and to thank them for their invaluable contributions to the Neuro. Like the best celebrations, we gathered friends and family for the Neuro’s real social event of the year, strengthening our bonds and animating our optimism. McGill Principal, Professor Heather Munroe-Blum; Dean of Medicine, Dr. Abraham Fuks; and MUHC Director General and CEO, Dr. Arthur Porter, joined me in welcoming the guests. Mr. Alex Paterson, McGill Chairman of the Board Emeritus, member of the MUHC Foundation Board, senior partner, Borden Ladner Gervais, former member of the Montreal Neurological Hospital Board and now MNI Advisory Board Member, graciously served as master of ceremonies.
AddressWelcome to the Neuro Convocation Ceremony. A year ago, we gathered for the first time in 70 years to celebrate the special achievements of some members of the Neuro family. We will do that again in this hour but first I think it is important to note that, as Bill Feindel often reminds me, it takes many private saints to make a public one. This year's awardees are the representatives of an outstanding community of health care professionals, scientists, staff, philanthropists and supporters in the government and in the Quebec community. Let us reflect a bit upon progress at The Neuro this past year.
We had several firsts or inaugural events. McGill Principal Heather Monroe Blum delivered The Neuro’s inaugural Dorothy J. Killam lecture, and Brenda Milner’s lecture tour across the country inaugurated the Governor General’s Lecture for the Royal Society of Canada. Nobel Laureate Sydney Brenner delivered the Neuro’s Hughlings Jackson Lecture at the Gairdner Foundation Award ceremony, and in a few weeks Brenda Milner will receive that award. Among other accolades, Brenda Milner was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Jack Antel won the Distel Prize for MS research, and George Karpati was awarded the Order of Quebec. In a terrifically important, long overdue development, I’m delighted to report that the Montreal Neurological Institute and the Montreal Neurological Hospital are now re-united as The Neuro. The Director again has responsibility for both the Institute and Hospital – responsibility that I share with a very talented team: Marilyn Kaplow and Mark Angle on the Hospital side, the soon to be expanded MNI Advisory Board, my management team and a great team from the MUHC. This means that we will together plan and guide the future of the Neuro...... and it’s a dazzling future that we see for us at McGill and as part of the MUHC at the Mountain site.
We are already well into our 21st century renaissance. This year, researchers Chris Pack and Ed Ruthazer arrived, and new clinician scientists Leslie Fellows and Michael Sinnreich are hard at work. We’re anticipating faculty additions in developmental neurobiology, brain imaging, neurology and neurosurgery, and plans are moving ahead with McGill for 50,000 square feet of new research and clinical space here on University Street.
Other MNI scientists, working with researchers from Physics, Chemistry, Engineering and Computer Science, are advancing a unique NeuroEngineering initiative. By using the tools of nanoscience, we are looking for ways to direct nerve cell outgrowth to establish precise living, functional connections by nerve cells on artificial matrices. This work has profound implications for regeneration and recovery from spinal cord injury.
We’re taking big steps out into the world - in China, Japan and India where The Neuro is well known because, over the years, MNI trainees returned home to establish their careers. These renewed friendships are fostering international collaborations while those closer to home continue to grow. Here at home, BRAMS, the International Laboratory for Brain, Mind and Sound Research, has just been established by MNI scientist Robert Zatorre and his colleagues at the University of Montreal, creating the largest group in the world studying the cognition of music and sound.Another measure of how well our work is recognized is our grant application success rate. In the most recent CIHR review, 14 of the 15 MNI grant requests were funded for a success rate of over 93% posted against a national average of 28%. Our scientists and clinicians have also been remarkably successful in securing support for their work from many international private foundations.
Academic medicine is thriving here. Last week, the Fondation André Delambre sponsored an international ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) symposium at The Neuro and established a new clinical fellowship here. Over the next year we anticipate that the new program in Experimental Therapeutics, directed by Amit Bar-Or, will move us forward in the treatment of MS (multiple sclerosis), movement disorders, ALS, brain tumours and other diseases. The Neuro is an outstanding research-driven, patient care institution. It was envisioned first by Dr. Penfield and in 1934 housed a very small group of faculty and staff; now more than 900 people from 60 countries work under this roof. Our common bond is the Neuro. Today we celebrate the lives of our guests of honor who have contributed so much to our success. Their dedication to the Neuro should inspire optimism and enthusiasm in us all as we tackle the new year.
Thank you, Don, Fred, Jean, Bill, Hanna and Alain for your commitment and leadership. With no ‘road map’ but like a true adventurer, you each relied on knowledge and experience. Like Penfield, you each had the conviction to achieve things that weren’t considered possible. The gift you will receive today is a chair embellished with a rendition of Penfield's design for the ceiling of lobby at the Neuro. In the center is Aries, the ram, the first sign of the Zodiac which represents a pioneering spirit, leadership, and the strength and courage to go into the wilderness. In the quadrants are the hieroglyphs which were the first written depiction of the brain. Surrounding all is the quote in Greek from Galen’s commentaries on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates. In this quote, Galen challenged the only man he ever called master, contradicting Hippocrates’ view that any wound to the brain must of necessity be fatal. Galen declared: “But I have seen a severely wounded brain healed” and a critically important idea was born.
The high achievers we honour today exploited many new ideas. Like them, we will use our ideas and energy to propel The Neuro and neuroscience into a future that today we can’t even imagine.
Please send any comments about the Director's Corner to David Colman
Recent News
Neuro Convocation
The second Neuro Convocation and Lifetime Achievement Awards Ceremony gave
us an opportunity to reflect on the extraordinary talents and significant
contributions of six outstanding individuals: Dr. Donald W. Baxter
(presented by Dr. Garth Bray), Director Emeritus of the MNI (1984-1992),
Professor Emeritus of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University; Dr.
Alain Beaudet (presented by Dr. Barbara Jones), President and CEO of the
Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec, Professor of Neurology and
Neurosurgery, McGill University; Mr. Frederick S. Burbidge (presented by
Mr. Hugh Hallward), Former President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Canadian Pacific Ltd., and MNI Advisory Board Member; Mr. A. Jean de
Grandpré (presented by Mr. Warren Chippindale), Founding Director and
Chairman Emeritus, BCE Inc., and MNI Advisory Board Member; Dr. William
Feindel (presented by Dr. Joseph Stratford), Director Emeritus of the MNI
(1972-1984), Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University;
Dr. Hanna Pappius (presented by Dr. Antoine Hakim), Professor of Neurology
and Neurosurgery, McGill University. The presentation was followed by a
wine and cheese reception to the music of our very own MNI Jazz Ensemble.
ALS Symposium
On September 9-10, the Neuro hosted an international symposium on
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Invited experts in the field presented
their recent research and clinical findings, engaging in provocative
discussions with an audience assembled from across Canada, North America
and Europe. The Fondation André Delambre sponsored the symposium,
establishing an important dialogue and fostering increased interaction
among experts who seek to understand this devastating disease. Participants
met Dr. Gilles Cloutier, Scientific Advisor and President-elect of the
Fondation Board, and Mr. André Delambre whose mission is supported by his
friend and associate, Céline Dion.
Research excellence
Research projects proposed by MNI scientists to the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research are consistently well received by peer review committees.
In the last round of grant review, 14 of 15 MNI grant applications were
funded for a success rate of over 93%. This compares to the national
average rate of 28%. Over the past 5 years, the success rate for MNI grants
requests to CIHR has been 72%, with additional funds coming in from many
international foundations and private agencies.
Philanthropic vote of confidence
The Neuro is proud to announce a gift of $2 million from The J.W. McConnell
Family Foundation. These funds will support the expansion of the McConnell
Brain Imaging Centre, making room for additional researchers and advanced
imaging equipment which was funded in part through a grant from the Canada
Foundation for Innovation for the Montreal Consortium of Brain Imaging
Researchers (MCBIR). The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation funds initiatives
of national significance which address challenges for Canadian society, and
has been a generous patron of the Montreal Neurological Institute and
Hospital, supporting the construction of the McConnell wing, the McConnell
Brain Imaging Centre, and the Brain Tumour Research Centre.
Unique Neuro-radiology Suite
The Neuro opened its new angiography suite now equipped with a $2.5 million
bi-plane angiography machine. Used for diagnostic angiograms as well as for
interventional radiological treatment of brain aneurysms and other vascular
anomalies that make a patient vulnerable to strokes, this machine provides
many advantages. With this system, neuro-radiologist, Dr. Donatella
Tampieri, and her team construct 3-D images of the brain to assure faster
and safer treatment of the patient. This advanced angiography system is in
place in only one other Canadian hospital.
The Best Care for Life
The McGill University Health Centre launched its $300 million capital
campaign, The Best Care for Life, to fund the development of its hospitals.
This campaign will allow the MUHC to fully modernize and expand the
Mountain Site (the Montreal Neurological and Montreal General Hospitals)
and to develop new facilities at the Glen Site (future home of the Montreal
Childrens’ and Royal Victoria Hospitals and the Montreal Chest Institute).
This campaign will cast a wide net as the MUHC hospitals are a
regional, national and international resource. For example, the Montreal
Neurological Hospital has state-of-the-art systems in angiography, brain
imaging and neuro-navigation to serve a patient population that is equally
representative of the Francophone and Anglophone communities in the
Montreal area, and also helps patients from Canada and around the world who
need highly specialized services.
Upcoming Events
Penfield Lecture
Dr. Philippe Couillard, Minister of Health and Social Services for Quebec,
will deliver the Penfield Lecture at the MNI on October 17. Head Surgeon of
the Department of Neurosurgery at Hôpital Saint-Luc at age 32, he
co-founded the Department of Neurosurgery in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. More
recently, Dr. Couillard was Head Surgeon and Director of the Department of
Surgery at the University of Sherbrooke Hospital Centre, and professor in
the Faculty of Medicine. Elected member of the National Assembly from the
riding of Mont-Royal in 2003, he was tapped by Premier Jean Charest as
Minister of Health and Social Services. The Penfield lecture will take
place in the Jeanne Timmins Amphitheatre at 5:00 pm on October 17. A
reception will follow.
International Visitors
Bahamian Health Minister
Dr. Marcus Bethel, McGill educated Minister of Health for the Bahamas, and
two colleagues visited The Neuro on September 21 to investigate
opportunities for clinical collaboration with the McGill University Health
Centre. He toured the MNI’s new angiography suite and the MR-assisted
neuronavigation system for neurosurgery. He also saw our capabilities in
telemedicine in the de Grandpré Communications Centre.
Welcome to ….
Juliet Holdstock from the School of Psychology, University of Liverpool,
UK, who is a Visiting Scientist working with Brenda Milner until spring,
2006. She will present some of her work in a lecture entitled “Multiple
memory systems in the medial temporal lobe: Evidence from lesion studies in
patients” on September 29 at 1:30 pm as part of the MNI’s Cognitive
Neuroscience Seminar series held in room W201.
Elior (Ori) Peles, Professor at the Weizmann Institute, Rehovat, Israel, who is a Visiting Scientist in the lab of MNI Director, David Colman. Ori and his family arrived in August for one year and were greeted by Susan Stern, Executive Director of the Friends of the Weizmann. Ori’s work at the MNI is funded by grants from the US National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Myelin Repair Foundation and by a Quebec government scholarship for international guests.
Congratulations to…
Ken Hastings who will serve as the McGill representative
to CIHR for the national distribution of information from that funding
agency.
Sharron Runions, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Cerebrovascular Program and her
co-authors Nathalie Rodrigue, Clinical Nurse Specialist/Stroke Coordinator,
Cerebrovascular Program, and Carole White, Former Nurse Researcher, MNH.
Their article "Practice on an Acute Stroke Unit After Implementation of a
Decision-making Algorithm for Dietary Management of Dysphagia" published in
the August 2004 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, received a
JNN Writing Excellence Award from the American Association of Neuroscience
Nurses in April 2005.
Condolences to …
The friends and family of Angel Alonso, Associate Professor at the MNI from 1990 until his death from a brief illness in July, 2005. Educated in Barcelona and Madrid, Angel worked with Rodolfo Llinas at New York University as a post doctoral fellow and established his career in the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Physiology at McGill University. Using electrophysiological techniques, he studied the neuronal processes underlying working memory (short-term memory we use to remember a phone number for a few seconds) and published more than 60 scientific articles on this topic in prestigious journals such as Nature and Neuron. Just prior to his death, he gave an advanced course in the Latin-American Doctorate in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville, Spain) and planned experiments with colleagues in Europe. His untimely death at age 48 was a great loss. An MNI event in his memory will be announced at a later date.
Director - David R. Colman, PhD
Senior Management - Mark Angle, MD; Tom Gevas; Marilyn Kaplow; Elizabeth
Kofron, PhD; Patricia O'Connor; Catherine Rowe
MNI Bulletin Editors: Elizabeth Kofron, PhD & Sandra McPherson,
PhD
Please send any items for the MNI Bulletin to Sandra McPherson or Beth Kofron.
