Rémi Quirion

Professor Rémi Quirion is the inaugural Chief Scientist of Quebec since July 1st, 2011. A McGill Full Professor, Psychiatry and outgoing Scientific Director at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute. He served as Vice-Dean, Faculty of Medicine at McGill University, as well as Senior University Advisor (Health Sciences Research) in addition to being the CIHR Executive Director, for Alzheimer’s Diseases, from 2009 to 2011.

Under his leadership, the Douglas Research Centre became a premier research facility in Canada in the fields of neurosciences and mental health. Prof. Quirion promoted the development of neurosciences and clinical research in Neurology and Psychiatry as well as social and evaluation aspects of research in mental health and addiction. His research interests include: a) understanding the relationships between key phenotypes of the Alzheimer’s brain and b) molecular and pharmacological features of neuropeptide receptors focusing on NPY and CGRP, and their role in memory, pain and drug dependence, and in animal models of schizophrenia. He trained over 20 PhD students and 50 PDF. In addition to being on the Advisory Board of over 15 journals in Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Neurosciences, he has published 5 books, more than 650 scientific papers and articles, and over 25,000 citations and h index of 78.

Prof. Quirion was the inaugural Scientific Director of the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA) until March 2009. He received many awards and recognitions as: the Médaille de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec”; Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada; “Chevalier” of the “Ordre national du Québec”; Wilder-Penfield Award”; the Dr. Mary V. Seeman Award and was appointed Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. In 2007, Prof. Quirion became a Member of the Order of Canada (O.C.).