Dr. Jacques Genest, Sr., a renowned 20th Century Canadian medical leader and a giant in hypertension research, passed away on January 5, 2018, in Montreal, Quebec, at the age of 98. He is survived by his wife, Estelle; 5 children (Paul, Suzanna, Jacques, Jr, Marie, and Helene); 12 grandchildren; and 7 great-grandchildren.
Jacques Genest, Sr. was born in Montreal on May 29, 1919. Following his undergraduate education at Jean-de-Brebeuf College and his medical education at the University of Montreal, he trained as a specialist in endocrinology and nephrology at Harvard hospitals in Boston, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and the Rockefeller University in New York.
Dr. Genest's monumental contributions to the field of hypertension began with a 1956 paper in Science on the role of aldosterone in hypertension. Shortly thereafter (1960), the Genest group demonstrated for the first time that angiotensin II stimulates aldosterone secretion in humans. Using new techniques to measure plasma renin activity in the 1960s and 1970s, Genest demonstrated the role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in experimental and human hypertension. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the Genest research team contributed to the discovery of atrial natriuretic peptide and helped define its role in the control of sodium and water excretion by the kidney. These contributions eventually led to new modes of treatment for hypertension and heart failure. Altogether, Jacques Genest, Sr., authored or co-authored more than 700 scientific manuscripts and four books, including major treatises on hypertension in 1976 and 1984.
For these and many other contributions, Dr. Genest received the highest award of the American Heart Association (AHA) for hypertension research, The Stouffer Prize (predecessor of the current AHA Excellence Award for Hypertension Research) in 1969. He was elected to membership in the American Clinical and Climatological Association the same year. Dr. Genest was appointed Chair of the AHA Council for High Blood Pressure Research in 1976–1978, and in 2003 received the highest AHA honor for science, the Distinguished Scientist Award.
Over the years, Jacques Genest, Sr., played a major critical role in the advancement of clinical research and the training of young clinician scientists in Quebec and throughout Canada. In 1952, he founded the first department of clinical research at Hotel-Dieu Hospital in Montreal. He also founded the Medical Research Council of Quebec and in 1963 contributed to the founding of the Medical Research Council of Canada, currently called the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In 1964, Dr. Genest was named director of the Department of Medicine of the University of Montreal. In 1967, Dr. Genest founded and led (1967–1984) the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal (now termed IRCM based on the French abbreviation for the Institute), which became a major biomedical research institution in Canada. Through the interpersonal skills of Dr. Genest in collaborating with other leaders, the IRCM became a major force in training not only for its parent institutions, the University of Montreal and the Hotel-Dieu Hospital, but also for McGill University. Under the direction of Dr. Genest, IRCM established a reputation as a world leader in hypertension research. For American medical scientists, it was a great honor to be asked to lecture at IRCM, and I was fortunate to be asked do so in the early 1980s. I will never forget Dr. Genest's warm hospitality and the pride he showed in introducing me to the great mural in the lobby of the building depicting the history of pharmacology. Dr. Genest also was the founder of the Canadian Society of Clinical Investigation and the Quebec Clinical Research Society.
Dr. Genest received numerous awards for his work in hypertension and the promotion of clinical research in Canada. These included the Gairdner Foundation International Award (1963), Companion of the Order of Canada (1967), the Flavelle Medal of the Royal Society of Canada (1968), the Loyola Medal of Concordia University (1978), designation as Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec (1991), Laureate of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (1994), and Prix Armand-Frappier of the government of Quebec (1996). Dr. Genest was a Master of the American College of Physicians and held 12 honorary doctoral degrees attesting to his contributions to medical research. The Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and Harvard Medical School selected Dr. Genest for their Leaders in American Medicine series.
Dr. Jacques Genest, Sr., was an extraordinary medical scientist and leader. He was also a kind, caring mentor and friend. We were fortunate to have him for as long as we did, and the world has been markedly enriched by his presence.
Robert M. Carey, MD, MACP
