Dr. Rémi Quirion named officer of Order of Canada

By Mike Murphy | Dr. Rémi Quirion, McGill Professor of Psychiatry and Scientific Director of the Douglas Hospital Research Centre, was inducted into the pantheon of Canada's most highly honoured civilians on Feb. 20, when Governor General Michaëlle Jean named him an Officer of the Order of Canada.

The honour acknowledges the exceptional lifetime contribution Dr. Quirion has made to both Canada and humanity at large through his internationally recognized mental health research.

Among his other accomplishents, Dr. Quirion's research has fostered a better understanding of the immense complexity of the central nervous system.

"Rémi Quirion is an outstanding researcher and an undisputed leader in mental health research," said Jacques Hendlisz, Douglas Hospital director general. "We are immensely proud of his accomplishments and their impact on Douglas Hospital Research Centre."

This is the latest in a long series of accolades for Dr. Quirion.

In 1997, he won both the Prix Léo-Pariseau and the Prix Galien Canada. In 2004, he received the highest honour bestowed by Quebec in biomedical science, the Wilder-Penfield Award. More recently, he was named Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and awarded the médaille de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec.