Convocation Awards
Governor General's Gold Medal and Gordon A. Maclachlan Prize
Dr. Jason da Silva Castanheira is a cognitive neuroscientist who completed his PhD in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill University under the supervision of Prof. Sylvain Baillet, based at the Montreal Neurological Institute.
Jason’s doctoral thesis focused on characterizing the biological origins of our inter-individual differences. Jason discovered what features of brain activity are unique to individuals by using brain scans of over 1000 individuals from openly available datasets. His research contributed to the notion of the ‘brain-fingerprint’: brain activity characteristic of individuals. He demonstrated that the brain-fingerprint is stable over months, impacted by neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease, and strongly influenced by genetics. The results of his dissertation lay the groundwork for future work exploring the biological origins of individual diversity. His research has been recognized by the Canadian Association for Neuroscience Brain Star Award, the Fonds de Recherche de Quebec, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
During his time at McGill University, Jason has strongly advocated for scientific openness. He curated resources and taught online courses about computer programming for neuroscientists. In addition, he developed analysis tools for the neuroscientific community as part of the openly available Brainstorm software package. His involvement with NeuroLingo, the Wisdom Exchange Program, and his administrative role in Brain Info underscore his dedication to communicating scientific innovation to everyone.
Jason continues his scientific journey as a post-doctoral research fellow at University College London exploring the neuroscience of attention and conscious perception in the lab of Prof. Steve Fleming. His research will focus on how the brain selects information for planning.
Governor General's Gold Medal and McGill Alumni Association Graduate Award
Dr. Hadas Dahary earned her Ph.D. in School/Applied Child Psychology at McGill University under the supervision of Dr. Eve-Marie Quintin. Her doctoral research was supported by the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship and competitive national autism research training initiatives, including the Quebec Autism Research Training (ART) Program, offered by the Azrieli Centre for Autism Research (ACAR) and the Transforming Autism Care Consortium (TACC) in Montreal.
In her doctoral research, Dr. Dahary focused on understanding strengths-based approaches that can increase societal appreciation of autistic people as well as target autistic people’s personal goals in meaningful and fulfilling ways. Dr. Dahary demonstrated the utility of implementing structured social activities, such as musical activities, in inclusive settings for autistic children and their peers to enjoy together. She also found empirical evidence to suggest that the beat of music is perceptually accessible to autistic children and, thus, may be effectively used to support their developmental goals. Her work, moving away from a deficit-focused view of autism, highlights the capabilities of autistic children and the enriching potential of learning environments like music. Dr. Dahary has presented her findings at national and international conferences, knowledge translation events, and in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Dr. Dahary is deeply committed to developing neurodiversity-affirming mental health supports in collaboration with neurodivergent people. During her doctoral program, she chaired and co-led conferences on mental health at McGill University and co-developed policy briefs on the topic of social inclusion with the Autism Alliance of Canada, aiding in the development of a National Autism Strategy.
Currently, as a postdoctoral fellow at CAMH’s Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre in Toronto, Dr. Dahary is involved in research projects exploring how interventions based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, developed in collaboration with clinicians and caregivers, can enhance the mental well-being and quality of life of families with developmental and medical complexities. She also serves as a Psychologist (Supervised Practice) at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, where she supports neurodiverse children and their families.
D.W Ambridge Prize
Dr. Christophe Lachance-Brais earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry at McGill University in August 2023 under the supervision of Professor Hanadi Sleiman, supported by a Vanier Scholarship.
During his time at McGill, Dr. Lachance-Brais conducted pioneering research in DNA/small-molecule hybrid materials for DNA functionalization and DNA-based therapeutic hydrogels. His thesis, entitled “Nucleic Acid / Small-Molecule Hybrids and Their Use in Supramolecular Functionalization, DNA Hydrogels, Gene Silencing, and Sequence Protection” contains multiple discoveries in the new field of DNA-hybrid materials.
The unifying thread behind these discoveries was the study of new induced forms of DNA and RNA. It was discovered that DNA can be reconfigured by the addition of small molecules mimicking its natural bases, resulting in the formation of unnatural hybrids. In collaboration with a diverse group of researchers, Dr. Lachance-Brais elucidated the thermodynamic and structural properties of these DNA hybrids. This investigation ruled out many proposed models for the hybrid structure, providing the best understanding to date of their assembly.
Building on this fundamental understanding, Dr. Lachance-Brais created a method to protect DNA and RNA from biological degradation, as well as the stiffest hydrogels made of unmodified DNA to date, setting new benchmarks in the field. These discoveries led to publications and an international patent for enhanced gene-silencing through injectable DNA hydrogels. In addition to having expanded the application scope of DNA-hybrids, Dr. Lachance-Brais has expanded their chemical landscape by discovering entirely new classes of molecules capable of reconfiguring DNA into novel and exotic shapes.
His publication record also includes multiple collaborations ranging from DNA origami to automated image analysis. Dr. Lachance-Brais also enjoys teaching chemistry to all audiences, which he did in the Chemistry Outreach Group of McGill during his Ph.D. years.
Currently, Dr. Lachance-Brais is a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben Feringa Lab at the University of Groningen, where he is researching methods to unite the work of unidirectional photoactivated molecular motors using supramolecular chemistry.
D.W Ambridge Prize - Mathilde Jutras
K.B. Jenckes Prize
Mathieu Lavigne completed his Ph.D. in Political Science at McGill University under the supervision of Éric Bélanger. His dissertation evaluates Canada’s resilience to misinformation by looking at how citizens’ media diets and political orientations influence their perceptions of misinformation, their likelihood of believing and sharing it, and how they feel about those who do not share their factual beliefs. His research establishes that citizens with left-wing and right-wing ideologies have different perceptions of where misinformation comes from, how concerned we should be, and what we should do about it. In addition, it shows that language created a barrier to the spread of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, with monolingual Francophones being slightly less vulnerable to misinformation because they were less exposed to polarized content from the United States. Finally, it introduces the concept of “issue-based affective polarization” – the gap between individuals’ feelings toward those who share their issue positions and those who do not – and demonstrates how factual disagreement induced by misinformation contributes to making Canadians affectively polarized on COVID-19 vaccines and climate change.
During his time at McGill, Mathieu has been the survey lead and director of two large projects that aimed to identify and evaluate the spread and impacts of mis- and disinformation during the 2021 Canadian federal election and 2022 Quebec provincial election. He has shown a strong commitment to communicating his research to decision-makers and the general public via public reports, public events, and media interviews, for which he won the President’s Prize for Public Engagement through Media in 2023. His doctoral studies have primarily been funded by fellowships from the SSHRC and FRQSC.
Mathieu is now a postdoctoral fellow in the Program in Quantitative Social Science at Dartmouth College.
Travel Awards
Delta Upsilon Memorial Scholarship
Arij Soufi, Mediciae Doctorem et Chirurgae Magistrum (MDCM)
Gabriela Baez Zaldivar, Chemical Engineering
John Williamson Frederick Peacock Memorial Scholarship
Nina Morena, Art History and Communication Studies
Philip F. Vineberg Travelling Fellowship
Susie Strachan, History
This work is licensed under a