News & Media
Neuro News - January 2006
Director's Corner
The State of the Neuro
Welcome to the New Year. I am now in my fourth year as Director, and I am delighted that I can look back with tremendous pride at what we have accomplished together in this short time - with the help of a great administrative team, a stellar faculty and staff, and volunteers and donors who are extraordinarily generous with their time and philanthropic support. Below, in a very abbreviated form (there was a lot to comment on in this small space), are some of the major highlights of the past 3 years:
We have treated thousands of patients with neurological problems, and made their lives better through the delivery of state-of-the-art, compassionate care. And our research efforts continue to make critically important inroads into the causes of neurological disease, and to finding new modes of treatment.
We secured our place on University Street (we will not be moving to the Glen Yards site) and reintegrated the Institute and Hospital under a unified management team. Our relationship with the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is now a strong and positive one, like our relationship with McGill.
We have fostered the development of new Neuro-academics which hold the promise of being as successful and prominent as our current activities. New research programs at the Neuro include BRAMS, a joint McGill/MNI and Université de Montréal research initiative on Brain, Music and Sound; NeuroEngineering, our multi-disciplinary program in biological and nanoscience; and Experimental Therapeutics, which targets medical advances in Multiple Sclerosis. We have established also new clinical fellowships and training support in ALS, Epilepsy, and Movement Disorders.
We have hired into the Institute and Hospital ten new faculty with outstanding credentials, and we have in progress faculty searches for imaging scientists and developmental neurobiologists. The training program in graduate studies has grown over the last several years as our faculty consistently attract highly talented students from around the world. Evidence of our high research achievement in science and medicine is in the success rate for grant applications from the Neuro; over the past 5 years, we have been double the average rate at the national level or at McGill.
The Neuro has been expanded and updated over the past 3 years. Recent developments in our physical plant include new construction of the 5th floor Angiography suite and clinical MRI suite, installation of a new 3T MRI scanner, a new Clinical Research Unit and a beautiful Polyclinic for outpatients on the 2nd floor. In spring 2006, construction will begin on a 70,000 square foot addition on the Neuro’s north side for expansion of the Brain Imaging Centre, new animal care facilities and additional clinical space. For new construction and renovations on our University Street site, we have secured $12.5 million from the MUHC.
On the critically important international front, we have established strong collaborative relationships with our sister institute in Tianjin, China, and with colleagues across Europe, and in India, Japan, Argentina and Brazil. Neuro faculty members teach in courses arranged by the International Brain Research Organization, bringing expertise to students around the world, and MNI faculty are frequently honoured with prestigious international awards.
In the past two years alone, we attracted over $12 million in new private funds, including generous bequests and gifts from individual donors and handsome grants from the McConnell, Molson, and Webster Foundations. Preparing for our capital campaign, we have recruited two internationally distinguished corporate leaders as co-chairs: Dominic D’Alessandro of Manulife Financial and Jacques Bougie, formerly of Alcan. New Advisory Board committees will help us realize our goal of expanding the “Neuro family” of supporters, and outstanding new members of the Board will help us handle the expanded mandate, which now includes the Hospital.
In short, it has been a great 3 years! Thanks for your part in making these achievements a reality. From my vantage point, I know that we’re well positioned to continue building the strongest possible future for the Neuro.
Please send any comments about the Director's Corner to David Colman
Recent News & Events
Thank you!
Mont Tremblant Rotary Club members visited the MNI recently to present a
$25,000 cheque, proceeds from the June 2005 Rotary Celebrity Golf Classic.
Club President John Sheppard and 25 rotarians were hosted by Neuro Annual
Fund Committee Chair Lorena Cook and committee member Leigh Taylor, who
served as the liaison with the Club. During a brief tour that included
stops at the MRS unit with Jacqueline Chen and the ICU with Mark Angle, the
group learned about the MNI’s history and latest initiatives from John
Robson.
Upcoming events
NeuroAIDS project in Tanzania
Neurology resident Roy Baskind joined Norbert Gilmore, Associate Director
of McGill AIDS Centre, and Madelaine Buck from the McGill School of Nursing
on a trip to Tanzania. This visit to several hospitals in the Makete
District will serve as the foundation for the NeuroAIDS Project, a concept
developed by Angela Genge, Director of The Neuro’s Clinical Research Unit
and former CBC Radio journalist Royal Orr. They hope to develop training,
treatment and education programs in order to ease the neurological
consequences of AIDS. The Gazette’s Terry Mosher and his wife are
participating in this venture and CBC television is producing a documentary
on this work. A second trip is planned for July 2006.
The Neuro family
With over 60 countries represented by the faculty, staff and students, the
Neuro is a talent hub for the neurosciences and is now, as it has been
since its inception, a launching pad for scientists and clinicians who have
world wide impact during their careers. Each month we will introduce you to
a talented young person at the MNI or to a former trainee (an MNI
alumunus/a). We think you will enjoy getting better acquainted with our
extended MNI family.
Dr. Lahbib Soualmi, a native of Algeria, has been Assistant Professor and Director of the Neuro-Navigational Unit since 2001. He plays a vital role in neurosurgery, working closely with neurosurgeons who use neuro-navigational tools to localize epileptic foci and tumours in the brain, and to plan the least invasive surgical path. Lahbib came to Montreal for graduate studies in biomedical engineering at l’École Polytechnique where he met his Swiss-born wife. Completing his PhD in 1998, Lahbib joined the MNI’s Neuro-Navigation Unit. An expert on ultrasonic imaging and image-guided neurosurgery, Lahbib will soon spend several weeks at the Tianjin General Hospital in China to demonstrate the close teamwork that allows us to maximize the benefits of neuro-navigation for our surgical patients.
Upcoming Lectures
The Neurology Conferences
Conferences are 8:30-9:30 each Friday and rotate among several locations.
January 27 Montreal Neurological Hospital Dr. Eva Andermann &
colleagues Epilepsy and Pregnancy
February 3 Montreal General Hospital
Dr. Judith Marcoux Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
February 10 Jewish General Hospital
Neurology Residents and Staff Case Presentation
February 17 Montreal Neurological Hospital
Dr. Jeffrey Chankowsky & Dr. Doug Arnold
Brain Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis: New criteria for clinical practice and
use as a biomarker for clinical trials
February 24 Montreal General Hospital
Dr. Charles Bolton, Queen's University
Critical Illness Polyneuropathy and Myopathy
Congratulations to …
Andrea Bernasconi whose recent paper, In Vivo Profiling of Focal Cortical Dysplasia on High-resolution MRI with Computational Models, was chosen as the cover page for the journal Epilepsia. The cover shows high resolution MRI images from work with his former post-doctoral fellow, Olivier Colliot.
Condolences to …..
Friends and family of André Delambre, trusted friend of Céline Dion and René Angélil, and Vice-Président Exécutif, Finances & Administration for Les Productions Feeling Inc. After his diagnosis with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Mr. Delambre established the Fondation André Delambre to help find a cure for ALS, and to help patients and their families manage its course. Through the foundation, Mr. Delambre committed support for a Clinical Fellowship in ALS at the MNI and to important medical work throughout Québec.
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.
