91˿Ƶ

Geneviève Bernard

Academic title(s): 

Associate Professor
MD, MSc, FRCPC

Contact Information
Address: 

MyeliNeuroGene Laboratory
Research Institute of the 91˿Ƶ Health Centre
1001 boul Decarie Boulevard, Block E CHHD Mail Drop Point #EM03211 (cubicle C)
Montreal, Quebec, H4A 3J1

Division: 
Neurology
Degree(s): 
  • D, Clinical, Université de Montréal, 1997-2002
  • MSc, part time program, as part of MD-MSc program in Neurosciences, September 1999-January 2003
  • Residency in Pediatric Neurology, Clinical, 91˿Ƶ, 2002-2008
  • Fellowship in Neurogenetics and Movement Disorders, Clinical and Research
  • Université de Montréal, Supervisors: Drs. Bernard Brais, Sylvain Chouinard and Guy A. Rouleau, 2008-2011
Biography: 

Dr. Geneviève Bernard is a pediatric neurologist and scientist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, the 91˿Ƶ Health Center (MUHC) and MUHC Research Institute, and an Associate Professor at 91˿Ƶ, in the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Pediatrics, an associate member of the Department of Human Genetics and a member of the Division of Medical Genetics at the MUHC. She is the recipient of the Research Scholar Junior 1 salary award from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé (FRQS) (2012-2016), the Canadian Institute of Health Research New Investigator salary award (2017-2022) and the Research Scholar Senior salary award from the FRQS (2022-2025). In 2020, Dr. Bernard won the Maude Abbott Prize, which recognizes outstanding female faculty at an early career stage who have excelled and demonstrated leadership in education, research or administration. In 2019, she won the Specialist of the Year Award (region 04) from the Canadian Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Bernard’s laboratory (MyeliNeuroGene Lab) focuses on translational research in leukodystrophies, from gene identification to pathophysiological mechanisms and pre-clinical studies to patients and families derived outcomes and natural history studies. She is the site principal investigator of several industry sponsored clinical trials. Her team, together with her international collaborators, discovered several disease-causing genes, including three genes responsible for 4H leukodystrophy. She led the largest international studies on clinical, radiological and genetic characterization of 4H leukodystrophy. I am the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the United Leukodystrophy Foundation, one of the largest foundations of its kind in the world. Dr. Bernard is the first woman, the first Canadian and the youngest individual in this position. She is also a board member of the Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease Foundation, the Yaya Foundation Scientific and Clinical Advisory Council and the Canadian representative on several international consortia, including the Global Leukodystrophy InitiAtive (GLIA). 

Areas of expertise: 

Clinical expertise:

  • ܰǻٰDZ󾱱
  • Neurodegenerative diseases
  • Movement disorders
  • ܰDzԱپ

Research expertise:

  • Gene identification
  • Natural history studies
  • Patient centered outcomes
  • Clinical trials
  • Induced pluripotent stem cell models
  • Murine models
Areas of interest: 
  • ܰǻٰDZ󾱱
  • 4H or POLR3-related leukodystrophy
  • Hypomyelinating leukodystrophies
  • Gene identification
  • Natural history studies
  • Patient centered outcomes
  • Clinical trials
  • Induced pluripotent stem cell models
  • Murine models
Awards, honours, and fellowships: 
  • Salary award, clinician-scientist, Montreal Children’s Hospital, 2011-2013
  • Clinical Research Scholars - Junior 1, FRQS (Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé), 2012-2016
  • Clinical Research Scholars - Junior 2 – declined (ranked first), FRQS (Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé), 2017-2021
  • CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research) New Investigator Award, 2017-2022
  • Selected to be a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease Foundation, April 2018
  • Classification in the top 5 for the 2018 CIHR Gold Leaf Prize for Outstanding Achievements by an Early Career Investigator, 2018
  • Specialist of the Year Award – Regional “Prix d’Excellence”, Canadian Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, 2019
  • Selected to be Chair of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of the United Leukodystrophy Foundation, October 2019. The United Leukodystrophy Foundation, one of the largest foundations of its kind in the world, founded in 1982. I am the first woman, the first Canadian, and the youngest individual in this position.
  • 2020 Maude Abbott Prize, 91˿Ƶ (10 000$) to recognize outstanding female faculty at an early career stage who have excelled and demonstrated great leadership in education, research or administration. The 2020 area of focus was on research leadership. /medicine/about/faculty-awards-prizes/faculty-honorary-prizes/maude-abbott-prize
  • Clinical Research Scholars – Senior (ranked first), FRQS (Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé), 2022-2025
  • Selected for the Yaya Foundation Scientific and Clinical advisory Council (member), August 2022
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