Press release

November 16,1999 Université de Montréal researcher receives Christopher Reeve Medal

This evening, Dr. Serge Rossignol, Director of the Center for Research in Neurological Sciences at Université de Montréal, received the Christopher Reeve Research Medal for Spinal Cord Repair jointly with a UCLA researcher. The medal was presented at a benefit dinner in New York organized by the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and hosted by Denzel Washington. In attendance, Paul Newman and Reeve himself, who suffered a serious spinal cord injury that has left him a quadriplegic. "I want to share this prize also with my collegues, my students, my technicians and all the support personnel. Our concepts on how the spinal cord works are evolving and, if we continue to share our support and science, we will improve the outcome of spinal cord injuries", said Dr. Serge Rossignol. Dr. Rossignol’s studies focus on the control mechanisms of locomotion, more particularly spinal locomotion and its neurophysiological and neuropharmacological aspects. These studies have shown that adult cats can recuperate locomotor functions of the hindlimbs after a complete spinal transection at a low thoracic level. Changes in physiological mechanisms, as well as in the receptors of the various neurotransmitter systems, occur during this functional recovery. The Christopher Reeve Research Medal for Spinal Cord Repair is given annually by the Reeve-Irvine Research Center at UCI College of Medicine to individuals who have made recent critical contributions to promoting repair of the damaged spinal cord and recovery of function. -30-

Information Marie-Claude Chalvignac Université de Montréal Direction des communications Tel.: (514) 343-7704 Pager: (514) 423-0651