News in brief for the week of May 16, 2011

Prof. Alfonso Mucci wins Keen Medal, Researcher Johnson named to Top 40 Under 40 list, student math whiz Nikita Lvov wins second straight Moser prize, and a Komen grant for Goodman Cancer Research Centre PhD Fellow Lussier.

Mucci awarded Keen Medal

Alfonso Mucci , a professor in the Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has been named the winner of the Michael J. Keen Medal. The Medal is awarded annually by the Marine Geosciences Division of the Geological Association of Canada to a scientist who has made a significant contribution to the field of marine or lacustrine geoscience. Mucci revolutionized the application of spectroscopy in understanding crystal growth mechanisms, developed models for predicting metal behaviour in ocean waters and sediments, and contributed to identify the causes of the bottom water hypoxia which likely caused depletion of the Eastern Canada fish stocks.

Kirsten Johnson: rising star

Kirsten Johnson, a professor in the Faculty of Medicine, has been named to Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 list as selected by Caldwell Partners International. Established in 1995, the award celebrates the achievements of Canadians Under the age of 40 for their vision and leadership; innovation and achievement; impact; growth and development; and community work. Johnson is the founder of McGill’s Humanitarian Studies Initiative (HSI), which provides across-the-board training to humanitarian aid workers, giving them the know-how they need to apply their skills to humanitarian situations, including disaster relief.

Student wins 2nd math prize

For the second straight year Nikita Lvov has won McGill’s William Moser Memorial Prize. The Prize is awarded to the McGill student who achieves the highest score in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. This year’s runner-up was Konstantine Tchourine. Both Lvov and Tchourine are doing their B.Sc Honours, Mathematics and Physics.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Carine Lussier, PhD Fellow at McGill’s Goodman Cancer Research Centre, has been awarded a $180,000 Post Doctoral Fellowship Basic Research grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure – the world’s largest grassroots breast cancer network and the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. Under the supervision of Drs. Morag Park and Thomas Duchaine, Lussier’s research looks at the impact of a family of microRNAs on the stromal-epithelial dialogue in breast cancer.