It is with great sadness that we marked the passing of Dr. Claude de Montigny on Oct. 19, 2012. Dr. de Montigny’s research on antidepressants and other psychoactive drugs has had an enormous influence on psychopharmacology research and understanding in Canada and worldwide and has had a major impact on how depression is treated.
Dr. de Montigny was the first psychiatrist in Canada to be awarded a Medical Research Council (MRC; now Canadian Institutes of Health Research) Centennial Fellowship and an MRC Scientific Award. He was also the first Canadian to earn the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Award. Dr. de Montigny received the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CCNP) Heinz Lehman Award in 1988, our highest recognition of excellence, and remained an active member of the CCNP until 2006.
Dr. de Montigny joined the McGill Department of Psychiatry in 1977 and rose through the ranks to become Professor Emeritus in 2008. In his illustrious career, Claude de Montigny published more than 200 scientific articles and ranked among the top 0.5% of the world’s most cited scientists.
He will be remembered fondly by the many scientists and trainees whom he mentored.