Albert J. Aguayo
October 2014 Honorary Degree Recipient
Doctor of Laws (honoris causa)
Albert Aguayo has had an unparalleled influence on the development of neuroscience in Canada and around the world. A pioneer in neural regeneration, his innovative research showed that nerve fibres and neural function in the central nervous system could be restored after injury.
A determined advocate for science education, Dr. Aguayo teaches around the world. He was born in Buenos Aires, earned an MD in 1959 from the University of Cordoba, and trained at the University of Toronto and McGill. A member of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill since 1967, he was Director of the Centre for Research in Neuroscience at McGill for 15 years. He was named Emeritus Professor in 2010. Dr. Aguayo’s many awards include the prestigious Gairdner International Prize, Wilder-Penfield Prize, Killam Prize, Christopher Reeve Medal and Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and elected to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. He served as both Secretary General and President of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO).
Albert Aguayo sits on the advisory board of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Foundation, the IBRO committee for the Rita Levi-Montalcini Fellowships for African Young Women Neuroscientists, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the External Advisory Board of the Methodist Hospital Research Institute, and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. He is also the Director of the Canada-IBRO International School of Neuroscience and a member of the Brain@McGill International Collaboration Program.