News & Media

August 2011
Director's Corner

The unexpected death in June of David Colman, our Director for the past 9 years, left us shocked and saddened. In the intervening weeks, we have reflected on his unique leadership, the highly significant impact he had on our lives and how he had succeeded in uniting The Neuro community behind a common vision that celebrated our achievements and our bright future.

The ceremony that was held to honour him on June 3 was a wonderful tribute that held great meaning for all who attended. We plan to celebrate David’s academic life and contributions by holding a symposium in Spring 2012 that will be inspired by his favorite saying of George Santayana : ‘Don’t be safe, be brilliant’.

As noted in last month’s Neuro News, McGill and the MUHC are working together to select a new Director for The Neuro. Discussions on the terms of reference and the composition of the selection committee have progressed and we are confident that this group will work quickly to identify an outstanding candidate for the leadership of The Neuro.

As interim directors, our primary goals are to ensure continuity of our operations and set the stage to allow a seamless transition for the new Director. We are working closely together to develop our major projects and campaign priorities.

The coming months will be a time of transition that will inevitably provide challenges and opportunities. During this period, we know we will have the support of The Neuro community and are confident that together we will be able to steer The Neuro well.

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Martine Alfonso, Interim Associate Director-General of the Hospital and
Philip Barker, Interim Director of the Institute

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Recent News

Welcome to new faculty: Bernard Brais, Heidi McBride and Hiroshi Tsuda
The Neuromuscular group is growing with the addition of 3 outstanding scientists.

Bernard Brais joins as Associate Professor, coming as a clinician and researcher from the Université de Montréal. Brais studies the genetic epideomology of hereditary diseases and takes a special interest in ‘founder effects’ in the French-Canadian population. The founder effect helps to explain the incidence of rare neurodegenerative diseases in populations that have been isolated due to location or other factors. Brais has identified several previously unknown diseases in Quebec and will continue his work in the lab and with patients at the Neuro.

Heidi McBride arrives as Associate Professor after 10 years at the Ottawa Heart Institute. She focuses her research on the proteins that govern the development and function of mitochondria, the organelles that provide energy to each cell, and on the relationship of these mitochrondrial dynamics to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s. McBride received both her BSc and PhD degrees from McGill, trained as a post-doctoral fellow in Germany and now holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair.

Hiroshi Tsuda received his MD degree from Kobe University and PhD from Kyoto University in Japan before completing his post-doctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. Tsuda studies the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, with a special focus on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), by using mice and Drosophilia (fruit flies) to better understand the relevant cellular mechanisms. In this way, he is helping to elucidate how molecular defects cause neurodegenerative disease.

Tim Kennedy promoted to Full Professor

Congratulations to neurobiologist Tim Kennedy who has been promoted to Full Professor. Tim was jointly appointed in the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Anatomy and Cell Biology when he arrived at McGill in 1996 and he has moved through the academic ranks while securing research operating grants and salary awards from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec and other agencies. Tim received his Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University in Biology and Psychology. He completed a PhD at Columbia University (NY) in the lab of Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel and made fundamental discoveries about the role of netrins in axonal growth and guidance as a post-doctoral trainee at UCSF in the lab of Marc Tessier-Lavigne. Tim’s research group studies the biochemical signals that direct cells to move, stop and make functional connections with neighboring cells. Since its inception in 2005, Tim has been part of the NeuroEngineering group whose members apply the tools and techniques from physics, chemistry and engineering to study questions in neuroscience.

Thanks and best wishes to Adele D’Amato
Adele D’Amato, assistant to the Chair in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, is retiring after 39 years at the Neuro. Adele started as a steno clerk in neuroanatomy with Francis McNaughton and George Karpati in 1972 and by September, she became the administrator for the Neurology Residency program, working for Neurologists-in-Chief Preston Robb and Joe Martin. Proving herself to be a highly efficient problem solver and an invaluable and expert administrator, in 1979 Adele added the role as administrative assistant to the Chair of Neurology and Neurosurgery, serving in turn Donald Baxter, Jack Antel, Richard Riopelle, and current interim chair Lesley Fellows. Hundreds of residents and fellows credit Adele with making their time at The Neuro a positive experience and remember fondly the help she gave them and their families on every aspect of life in Montreal. In gratitude, these former trainees have established the Adele D’Amato Neurology Education Endowment Fund. There has been an incredible response from current and former trainees and staff to this campaign spearheaded by Lesley Fellows. Please contact Dr. Fellows if you would like more information.

Respected and well-liked, Adele is not replaced easily – rumors abound that several people will tackle the job she has managed so successfully by herself.
Please join us in sending Adele off to a happy and satisfying retirement at a reception in her honor on Tuesday, August 30 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm in the Helen Penfield Atrium.

Robert J. Zatorre receives the 22nd annual Neuronal Plasticity Prize

The 22nd annual Neuronal Plasticity Prize of the Fondation Ipsen has been awarded to Robert J. Zatorre (Montreal Neurological Institute, BRAMS Laboratory), Isabelle Peretz (University of Montreal, BRAMS Laboratory) and Helen J. Neville (University of Oregon, Eugene, USA), for their pioneering research in the domain of “Music and Brain Plasticity”. The €60,000 prize was awarded on July 15, 2011 by an international jury led by Professor Nikos Logothetis (Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tubingen, Germany) at the 8th International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) World Congress of Neuroscience in Florence, Italy.

Robert J. Zatorre is a James McGill Professor at The Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University. Dr. Zatorre’s research explores the functional and structural organization of the human brain using neuroimaging and behavioral methods. His principal research interests relate to the neural substrate for auditory cognition, with special emphasis on two complex and characteristically human abilities: speech and music. He and his collaborators have published over 200 scientific papers on a variety of topics including pitch perception, musical imagery, absolute pitch, music and emotion, perception of auditory space, and brain plasticity in the blind and the deaf. In 2006 he co-founded the international laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound research (BRAMS), a unique multi-university consortium dedicated to the cognitive neuroscience of music and auditory cognition.

The Neuro has 2 candidates for The Greatest McGillian
Brenda Milner and Wilder Penfield are both in the top 20 finalists in the Greatest McGillian Contest. Watch videos of Dr. Milner highlight the achievements of Wilder Penfield and Lesley Fellows explain why Dr. Milner is the Greatest McGillian.
Vote now for your favourite

"Le cerveau nous allume!" - a visual art exhibit about The Neuro
Initiated by Yves Ferland, a patient who has become a volunteer and ambassador for The Neuro, this project unites a visual artist and nine photographers (listed below) under one theme: The Neuro. A single visit was enough to convince the artists to take part in this project and to graciously donate their time and their art!

The project’s objective is to increase Quebec’s awareness about The Neuro through unique and original works of visual art. Through their art, they aim to represent The Neuro’s clinical and research mission and to communicate the passion and commitment of people working at The Neuro.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Josée Della Rocca at ext. 1851.

Artist :
Steven Spazuk
Photographers :
Jean-François Bérubé, Martine Doucet, Martine Doyon, Adrien Duey, François Fortin, Yves Lacombe, Ron Levine, Dominique Malaterre, Sean O’Neill

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In the Media

The work of scientists and clinicians at The Neuro is frequently in the news so you can stay up to date by following our media coverage.

Robert Zatorre was quoted in Science Magazine article “Brains on jazz feel the music”.

Angela Genge was interviewed about the new Canadian Neuromuscular Database Registry, for patients with diseases such as ALS and pediatric muscular dystrophy for CTV News. The Neuro is coordinating the registry for adult patients in Montreal.

The Agence Science-Presse featured the work of Chris Pack and collaborators at the University of Rochester in an article entitled “Les mystères de l’illusion d’optique.”

Amit Bar-Or was interviewed by The Globe and Mail about a large genetics-based study of multiple sclerosis which identified more than two dozen new genetic variants common to people with MS and found the majority of genes involved are pivotal to the immune system.

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Congratulations to ...

Graduate students in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience (IPN) who have received prestigious 3 year scholarships from the Canada Vanier program, including Martha Shiell who works in the lab of Robert Zatorre, and Synthia Guimond who will start her studies with Martin Lepage at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in September. In 2010, IPN students Emily Coffey from Robert Zatorre’s lab, and Jenea Bin from Tim Kennedy’s lab received Vanier scholarships.

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Thank you to ...

Gabriel Crevier-Sorbo, a summer student working for the Patients Committee and Friends of the Neuro, for his wonderful piano recital for Neuro patients on August 10.

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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.

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