News & Media

October 2009
Director's Corner: Inseparable

"Brain surgery is a terrible profession. If I did not feel it will become different in my lifetime, I should hate it."

Wilder Penfield, 1921

Penfield wrote this more than a decade before The Neuro opened its doors, but the seed of what The Neuro was to be can be found in these two sentences.

How does one deal with the frustrating pace of progress in one's profession? For a man like Penfield, the thought that he would spend his life providing only the then-current standard of care to his patients, without trying to advance the frontiers of his field, was intolerable. In 1921, the global trend (still the model at most other institutions) was to build a big hospital, and stick separate research institutes of one kind or another around it, like ornaments on a Christmas tree. For budgetary and administrative reasons, keep these research institutes at arm's length from the clinical activities. This is an anachronistic model, which does not encourage the most productive interactions between clinicians and researchers, but is easier to administer and to govern.

Recognizing the limitations of this configuration, Penfield's solution was to create a large research establishment within which was housed a specialized hospital for the treatment of neurological conditions. Attract the brightest clinical and research minds, create a culture of research-driven clinical activities, and provide the unified space (see his conceptual sketch of The Neuro) in which this culture would thrive. Make no distinction between clinical and research activities, because in fact, they are but two sides of the same coin. Think always well into the future - work to bring research advances as rapidly as possible to the clinic.

And so drive progress in Penfield's "terrible profession" forward.

Still unique in the world, Penfield's model, the brain-child of a thirty-year old visionary, has been spectacularly successful over the past 75 years. And next month, we celebrate those successes.

Please send any comments about the Director's Corner to David Colman

Recent News

Sir John Bell joins the Advisory Board
Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, has joined the Advisory Board of The Neuro. Professor Bell is the President of the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK) and Chair of the Office for the Strategic Coordination of Health Research, which advises Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Bell’s scientific work has focused on the genetics of autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, and he is a strong proponent of the role genetics and genomics will play in improving individual medical treatment and health outcomes in the future. Bell is Founder of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford; Chairman of the Oxford Health Alliance, a private public partnership that sponsors global research on chronic diseases; and sits on the scientific advisory committee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Professor Bell received the 2009 Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research and recently gave the The Neuro’s prestigious Penfield Lecture.

Patricia O’Connor named Director of Nursing, MUHC
Patty O’Connor was recently named Director of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer of the MUHC. Patty is an Associate Professor at the McGill School of Nursing, where she studied for her BScN and MSc, and since 1999 was Director of Neuroscience Nursing. With years of experience in the McGill University Health Centre hospitals, she worked at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital from 1990-1999, and also at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. Patty was a Fellow in the Canadian Health Service Research Foundation’s Executive Training in Research Application program and in the Commonwealth Fund Harkness Program in Health Policy and Practice. Her research interests include innovation in interdisciplinary work redesign. She is past president of the Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses.

Alan Evans selected as James McGill Professor
Alan Evans was named a James McGill Professor by McGill University. Alan is known internationally for his work in brain mapping and the complex analysis of large data sets derived from brain imaging studies. He works with colleagues on questions in a wide range of fields, including psychiatry, neurology, aging, cognitive neuroscience, brain development and drug addiction.

Amit Bar-Or honoured by Foundation of Stars
Amit Bar-Or received the Young Investigator Award for Child Health Research from the Foundation of Stars, formerly known as the Foundation for Research into Children’s Diseases. Working with Brenda Banwell from Toronto and colleagues across Canada, Amit studies how immune responses in childhood contribute to the development of adult autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease or type-1 diabetes. Following children after an initial inflammatory attack of the central nervous system, he aims to discover which children will develop multiple sclerosis later in life, and to guide early treatment decisions.

Thinking Ahead Campaign Report at $37 million
The Neuro’s Thinking Ahead Campaign maintains it fast pace. Supporters of The Neuro have given more than $10 million since May 2008, despite the global economic downturn. Campaign co-chairs Jacques Bougie and Dominic D’Alessandro attribute this generous support to our donors’ commitment to the research and clinical mission of The Neuro.

Upcoming Events

Marc Tessier-Lavigne lectures, October 16 and 17
Marc Tessier-Lavigne, VP Research and Chief Scientific Office at Genentech, will give a talk for scientific experts at The Neuro, Friday, October 16 at 1:30 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend. Tessier-Lavigne will also give the Beatty Memorial Lecture for a general audience, entitled “Brain Development and Brain Repair: The life and death of nerve cells” on Saturday, October 17 at 10 am at the Mont Royal Centre, 2200 Mansfield. Tickets are free and can be reserved at 514-398-1248, and will be offered at the door if space is available. Faculty, staff, students and friends of The Neuro may get tickets for this lecture at the Director’s office (local 1903).

Hamel and Angle kick-off Faculty and Staff Campaign, October 16
Co-chairs Edith Hamel and Mark Angle will launch The Neuro’s annual Faculty and Staff Campaign on October 16. With this important effort, we demonstrate in one more way how committed we are to the mission of The Neuro. Last year, your contributions to the Faculty and Staff Campaign helped push The Neuro’s Annual Fund past the million dollar mark.

Register NOW for The Neuro’s 75th anniversary celebration, November 2-4
A feast of science and festivities will be enjoyed by everyone who registers for The Neuro’s 75th anniversary celebration. The long and tempting list of events includes a tour of the Penfield estate, a 2 day scientific symposium with Nobel laureates and emerging stars, special interest dinners hosted by MNI faculty, a gala evening, panel discussion on the future of scientific discovery and more. For a complete list of events and to register, please see www.theneuro.com. Act now! Registration deadline is October 21.

Fellowships support students and trainees
Students and trainees at The Neuro are eligible for 13 Fellowships and travel awards. These awards support advanced training in academic and clinical specialties, and are provided through funding from the Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research award, and gifts from National Bank Financial Group, CIBC, Mark and Shirley Ferguson Rayport, Preston Robb, Tony Proudfoot, and others. Please see the website for more information. Fellowship applications are due October 31.

Congratulations to ...

Julia Jacobs, a postdoctoral fellow with Jean Gotman, who was awarded the 2008 Morris-Coole Prize from the International League against Epilepsy. The prize recognizes an outstanding research paper published in Epilepsia and was presented recently at the 2009 International Congress on in Budapest. Her paper was titled: Interictal high-frequency oscillations (80-500 Hz) are an indicator of seizure onset areas independent of spikes in the human epileptic brain. (Epilepsia, 49:11; 1836-1907, 2008)

Eileen Hogan, technical co-ordinator for Respiratory Therapy and Anesthesia at The Neuro, who received an MUHC Innovations Bursary to buy 3 TV/DVD units on mobile carts for the use of our patients, as well as a donation of movie DVDs from Blockbuster. If you have any new or used DVDs to donate, please contact The Friends of the Neuro at 514 398-1923.

Director - David R. Colman, PhD
Senior Management - Martine Alfonso; Mark Angle, MD; Phil Barker, PhD; Rob Dunn, PhD; Lucia Fabijan; Tom Gevas; Elizabeth Kofron, PhD; Catherine Rowe; Donatella Tampieri, MD
Neuro News: Elizabeth Kofron, PhD & Sandra McPherson, PhD

Please send any items for the Neuro News to Sandra McPherson or Beth Kofron.