
A new study shows that the hippocampus retains traces of negative and stressful experiences which are linked to depressive behaviours
Depression can be associated with behaviours such as social avoidance, that is, the refusal to interact with others for fear of being judged or criticized. Physicians and other mental health workers have noted that patients with depressive disorders exhibit cognitive symptoms, especially with regard to memory.

Dr. Joseph Hill named 2019 recipient of the Louis and Artur Lucian Award
The recipient of the 2019 Louis and Artur Lucian Award is Dr. Joseph Hill from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The award, established through a bequest to McGill University by the late Olga Leibovici to honour her two brothers, was designed to honour outstanding research in the field of circulatory diseases by a scientific investigator or group of investigators whose contribution to knowledge in this field is deemed worthy of special recognition.

Minister of Health Ginette Petitpas Taylor announces investment of $150M to create “Team Canada of Cancer Research”
MONCTON, NB – The federal Minister of Health, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, announced today an investment of $150 million over five years by the Government of Canada for the creation of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres network.

Research team receives $6M to find new ways to treat metastatic breast cancer
Source: Terry Fox Research Institute
What is the best way to starve cancer cells? What role does obesity play in metastatic breast cancer and how does it affect the tumour microenvironment? Might combining a chemotherapeutic agent with a drug now used to treat diabetes be part of an effective therapy for metastatic breast cancer?

Researchers unlock mysteries of complex microRNA oncogenes
New research led by McGill’s Goodman Cancer Research Centre improves our understanding of microRNAs

McGill researchers reveal how protein mutation is involved in rare brain development disorder
Discovery could provide clues to potential therapies
Rearing its head in infancy, Christianson Syndrome is a rare disorder whose symptoms include intellectual disability, seizures and difficulty standing or walking. Although it is becoming increasingly diagnosed, with little being known about the neural mechanism behind the disease, therapeutic options for patients remain limited.

A Quebec first: Research chair in women’s heart health
Heart & Stroke and McGill University to create Early-Career Professorship in Women’s Heart Health

$27.9 million investment to fund the Québec Cancer Consortium to develop novel therapeutics and biomarkers for cancer
The Québec Cancer Consortium for Novel Therapeutics and Biomarkers (QCC), a collaboration between six leading hospital and cancer research centre sites based in Montreal led by McGill University’s Goodman Cancer Research Centre (GCRC) was awarded $10M in new funding from the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation (MEI) du Québec through its Fonds d’accélération des collaborations en santé (FACS) program.

A step closer to identifying cause of a blinding disease
Researchers find clue to rare genetic disorder
Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is an inherited form of vision loss that causes people to have trouble with their colour vision and difficulty seeing in the centre of their visual field. Due to the founder effect from the filles du roi, there is a disproportionate preponderance of a particular LHON mutation among the French-Canadian population.

A step toward better understanding brain anatomy of autism spectrum disorder
Study could lead to development of personalized biomarkers and treatment
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often lumped into a single catch-all group, despite significant differences in symptom profile and severity. Further muddying the waters when trying to understand and treat ASD, many previous studies show significant variability in findings.

Brain signaling proteins hit the road running
New study of brain neurotransmitter receptor has implications for drug discovery
Surprisingly complex movements in an important neurotransmitter receptor may help explain the brain’s unpredictable response to drugs, according to a new study. New research from an international team, published this week in the journal Neuron, has revealed that the resting state of signaling proteins are much more dynamic than previously thought.

Dr. Shari Baum on the Faculty’s Strategic Research Plan
McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine unveiled a new strategic research plan (SRP) for the Faculty in 2014, which was subsequently updated in 2017 as part of the strategic planning exercise known as Project Renaissance. Dr. Shari Baum, who recently assumed the role of Vice-Dean, Life Sciences, played an important role in the development of the most recent version of the plan. Dr.

I Medici di McGill celebrating 30 years of concerts for causes
Growing up in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb, Dr. Ante L. Padjen, Associate Professor (post- retirement) at McGill University, found inspiration in the orchestra of the Croatian Institute of Music (CIM). Founded in 1827, the CIM has mostly been an ensemble comprised of physicians, lawyers, engineers and students, conducted by a professor from the Zagreb Music Academy. Following an opportunity to play briefly with CIM himself, Dr.

New PhD program in Quantitative Life Sciences approved
By Gillian Woodford
An innovative interdisciplinary PhD program will bridge the gap between the quantitative and biological domains to improve life sciences research.

Anti-inflammatory drugs ineffective for prevention of Alzheimer’s disease
Study sheds light on longstanding debate