The winner of the Jacob’s Ladder Norman Saunders International Research Prize Award for 2020 is Dr. Bernard Brais.  Dr. Bernard Brais is a neurologist, co-director of the Rare Neurological Diseases group of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital.  He completed his MDCM, Neurology residency and PhD at McGill. He is also trained as a historian of neurosciences and genetics. His research largely focuses on the genetic basis of neurogenetic disorders with founder effects in Quebec, with an increasing focus on disorders with ataxic manifestations such as Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS). Since 2007, he has headed a team of researchers on ARSACS. Dr. Brais has played important roles in identifying causal genes for Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD), Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy type II (HSANII), Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy with Quadriceps atrophy (LGMD2L), Pol III-related leukodystrophies, and ZAK congenital myopathy.

We look forward to welcoming Dr. Brais in Toronto to receive his award on October 7^th, 2020.  He will also present a speech, albeit virtually, to Paediatrics Grand Rounds at The Hospital for Sick Children on that same date.