Twelve McGill researchers and academic leaders are among the 59 new Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS). They join a national community recognized for distinguished contributions to health research, care, policy and education.
The Fellowship is one of the country’s highest honours in the health sciences field.
“The 2026 cohort reflects the remarkable breadth of Canada’s health sciences community and the many ways in which leadership, innovation and service contribute to improving the health and well-being of Canadians,” said Elham Emami, chair of the CAHS Fellowship Committee and Dean of McGill University’s Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences.
The Fellows are named after having been assessed by selection committees applying rigorous criteria. McGill’s honourees span clinical medicine, biomedical research, neuroscience, law, bioethics, dentistry, epidemiology and agricultural and environmental sciences. Their work ranges from developing new approaches to cancer and infectious diseases to understanding the brain, improving surgery and shaping policy around biomedical innovation.
The 12 new Fellows are:
- Dr. Armen G. Aprikian, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Aprikian is a surgeon-scientist specializing in prostate cancer, health economics and quality of care of urologic malignancies. He is Chief of Oncology at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) a former president of the Canadian Urological Association and a founding director of Procure, a prostate cancer charity. - Dr. Liane Feldman, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Feldman is an internationally recognized gastrointestinal surgeon, outcomes scientist and health system leader whose work has transformed perioperative care. A pioneer in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery, she has helped improve surgical outcomes, shorten hospital stays and expand access to care. She is Surgeon-in-Chief at the MUHC. - Dr. Lorenzo Ferri, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Ferri is a thoracic surgeon and cancer researcher investigating the mechanisms of therapy resistance in esophageal cancer and the inflammatory basis of cancer progression. Director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery, Ferri is also president of both the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus and International Society for Digestive Surgery. - Dr. Edward A. Fon, The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Director of the Neuro, Fon is a clinician-scientist and neurologist specializing in movement disorders. He leads internationally recognized research on Parkinson’s disease and the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration and has been named among the world’s top one per cent most-cited researchers. - Richard Gold, Faculty of Law
A pioneering legal scholar in biomedical innovation, Gold has produced leading scholarly and policy work on biomedical patenting, research collaborations, international intellectual property and open science. His interdisciplinary expertise spans science, law, international relations and management. - Jonathan Kimmelman, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Kimmelman is a bioethicist who studies the ethical, scientific and policy dimensions of developing new drugs. His work has informed international organizations including the World Health Organization and the U.S. National Academy of Medicine. - Momar Ndao, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Ndao is an infectious disease and parasitology expert whose research advances diagnostics, vaccines and drug discovery. As Director of Canada’s National Reference Centre for Parasitology, he leads critical innovations utilizing proteomics, metabolomics and One Health approaches to combat global parasitic threats. - Michael Petrides, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Faculty of Science
Petrides is a leading neuropsychologist and cognitive neuroscientist known for research linking specific brain circuits to cognition. His work has helped illuminate the role of the prefrontal cortex in executive functions. Petrides’s work helped develop new neuropsychology tasks to examine specific functional processes following brain damage. - Faleh Tamimi, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health
Tamimi’s translational research is focused on understanding fundamental problems and developing technologies (biomaterials, drugs, AI) to manage oral pathologies. His research has produced innovative treatments tested in clinical trials and commercialized for patient care. - Christina Wolfson, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Wolfson is a neuroepidemiologist whose population research has advanced the understanding of multiple sclerosis, dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. She is a leader of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging and founded the endMS National Training Program. - Robert Zatorre, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Zatorre is a cognitive neuroscientist who has spent decades investigating speech, music, auditory cognition, plasticity and emotion. His research has shown how hemispheric specialization, auditory-motor pathways and reward circuits interact to shape human perception and learning. - Xin Zhao, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Xin Zhao is a leader in animal physiology whose research has advanced the understanding of antimicrobial resistance, host-microbe interactions and sustainable livestock health. His work has contributed to strategies for reducing antibiotic use, mitigating zoonotic disease risks, and improving food safety.
The announcement was made Aug. 25.