Dr. Brenda Milner has received numerous recognitions for her contributions to neuroscience and psychology, and has been awarded honourary degrees from more than 25 different universities across Canada, Europe, and the United States.
Awards & Distinctions
2010 - present
- Canada’s Walk of Fame (2023)
- Charles L. Branch BrainHealth Award (2022)
- International Lifetime Achievement Award, Mensa Foundation (2018)
- Commander, Ordre de Montréal (2018)
- Medal of Honour, National Assembly of Quebec (2018)
- Medal for Exceptional Academic Achievement, McGill University (2017)
- Commander, Ordre de Montréal (2016)
- Prix Hommage du 50e anniversaire, Ordre des psychologues de Quebec (2014)
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Canadian Association for Neuroscience (2014)
- Dan David Prize (2014)
- Kavli Prize in Neuroscience (2014)
- Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame (2012)
- Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012)
- Prize for Career Achievement, Ordre des psychologues de Quebec (2012)
- Pearl Meister Greengard Prize, The Rockefeller University (2011)
- Award of Excellence, NSERC (2010)
- Norman A. Anderson Lifetime Achievement Award, Society of Experimental Psychologists (2010)
2000 - 2009
- Balzan Foundation Award in Cognitive Neuroscience (2009)
- Promotion to Grande Officière de l'Ordre national du Québec (2009)
- NSERC Award of Excellence, NSERC (2009)
- Balzan Prize in Cognitive Neuroscience (2009)
- Medal of Excellence, NSERC (2009)
- Goldman-Rakic Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Cognitive Neuroscience, NARSAD (2009)
- Grand Officer, National Order of Quebec (2009)
- Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007)
- Honorary Member, Golden Key International Honour Society (2005)
- Penfield Award, Canadian League Against Epilepsy (2005)
- Foreign Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2005)
- Gairdner Foundation International Award in Health Research (2005)
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2005)
- National Academy of Sciences Award in the Neurosciences (2004)
- Companion, Order of Canada (2004)
- Michel Sarrazin Award, Club de recherches cliniques du Québec (2003)
- Golden Jubilee Medal, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (2002)
- YWCA Woman of Distinction in Science and Technology (2001)
- John P. McGovern Award in the Behavioural Sciences, American Association For the Advancement of Science (2001)
- Donald O. Hebb Distinguished Contribution Award, CSBBCS (2001)
1990 - 1999
- Honorary Member, European Brain and Behaviour Society, Brussels (1999)
- Quad-L Lecture, University of New Mexico, USA (1997)
- Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, (1997)
- Senior Award for Medical Research, Metropolitan Life Foundation (1997)
- Gordon G. Lennox Award, American Epilepsy Society (1995)
- Grass Lecturer, Society for Neuroscience, USA (1995)
- Neural Plasticity Prize, Fondation IPSEN, Paris (1995)
- McLaughlin Medal, Royal Society of Canada (1995)
- Distinguished Neuropsychologist Award, National Academy of Neuropsychology (1994)
- Eighth Annual Rita G. Rudel/Lucy G. Moses Lecturer, Columbia University (1994)
- First recipient of the Wilder Penfield Prize for Biomedical Research, Province of Quebec (1993)
- Dorothy J. Killam Professor, Montreal Neurological Institute (1993)
- Prix Wilder-Penfield (Prix du Quebec), (1993)
- History of Neuroscience Lecture, Society for Neuroscience, USA (1992)
- Corresponding Member, Swiss Leaque against Epilepsy (1992)
1980 - 1989
- Honorary Fellow, Newnham College (1989)
- Humphry Davy Lecturer of the Royal Society, Académie des Sciences, Paris, France (1989)
- William James Fellow, American Psychological Society (1989)
- Fellow, Society of Experimental Psychologists (1988)
- Abe Black Memorial Lecturer, McMaster University (1987)
- Killam Lecturer, Dalhousie University (1987)
- Thenth Annual Ralph W. Gereard Prize, Society for Neuroscience, USA (1987)
- Grand Montréalais (1987)
- Honorary Life Member, The New York Academy of Sciences, USA (1986)
- W.C.D. Pacey Lecturer, University of New Brunswick (1986)
- Falconbridge Lecturer, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON (1985)
- Femme de l'Année en Sciences', Québec (1985)
- Mérite annuel 1985, Corporation professionnele des psychologues du Québec (1985)
- Grand Dame of Merit of the Sovereign Military Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights/Dames of Malta (1985)
- Officer of the National Order of Quebec (1985)
- Penfield Award, Canadian League Against Epilepsy (1984)
- Hermann von Helmholtz Prize, Cognitive Neuroscience Institute (1984)
- Officer, Order of Canada (1984)
- CIL Inc Distinguished Visiting Lectureship in the Sciences, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS (1983)
- 11th Sir Frederic Bartlett Lecturer, Experimental Psychology Society, U.K. (1983)
- Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Prize of the Canada Council (1983)
- Plenary speaker, 1st World Congress of the International Brain Research Organization Lausanne, Switzerland (1982)
- 2nd Delos D. Wickens Lecturer, Ohio State University (1981)
- Donald D. Matson Lecturer, Harvard Medical School (1981)
- Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science, Canadian Psychology Association (1981)
1960 - 1979
- Fellow, Royal Society of London (1979)
- Hughlings Jackson Lecturer, Montreal Neurological Institute (1979)
- Karl Spencer Lashley Prize, American Philosophical Society (1979)
- National Sigma Xi Lecturer, USA (1978-1980)
- Invited Plenary Address, European Brain and Behaviour Society, Brussels (1977)
- Chairman, Psychology Section 1977-1978, American Asocciation For the Advancement of Science (1977)
- Foreign Associate, National Academy of Sciences (1976)
- Fellow, Royal Society of Canada (1975)
- Distinguished Scientist Address, Eastern Psychological Association (1975)
- Lennox Lecturer, American Epilepsy Society (1974)
- Distinguish Scientific Contribution Award, APA (1973)
- President, Division 6, Physiology & Comparative Psychology, American Psychological Society (1972-1974)
- Clothworkers Fellowship for Scientific Research, Girton College (1971-1972)
- Kathleen Stott Prize, Newnham College (1971)
- Career Investigator, Medical Research Council of Canada (1964-2000)
Honourary Degrees
Queen's University (1980)
University of Manitoba (1982)
Mount Holyoke College (1986)
University of Lethbridge (1986)
Laval University (1987)
University of Toronto (1987)
Mount Saint Vincent University (1988)
Université de Montréal (1988)
Acadian University (1991)
McGill University (1991)
Wesleyan University (1991)
University of St. Andrews (1992)
University of Hartford (1997)
McMaster University (1999)
University of Cambridge (2000)
Columbia University (2002)
Memorial University of Newfoundland (2002)
Second University of Naples (2002)
University of Ottawa (2004)
Ryerson University (2008)
l'Université du Québec à Montréal (2010)
l'Université du Québec en Outaouais (2010)
University of Arizona (2015)
The Rockefeller University (2015)
University of Calgary (2015)
Thompson Rivers University (2016)
