Canadian College of
Neuropsychopharmacology

Submit Your Major Award Nomination!

Members, you can now submit your Major Award nominations online! Nominate the person who has made outstanding contributions to the field of neuropsychopharmacology for one of the following four awards: the Heinz Lehmann Award, the Early Career Investigator Award, the Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacology Award and the CCNP Medal. Details regarding each of these awards can be found on the CCNP Award page.

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO: Sunday, June 15

Submit your nomination

Dr. Francis Wayne Quan Memorial Prize

The Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada and Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience have launched an annual award for the best paper published in the journal, to honour the contributions of psychiatrist and former editor Dr. Francis Wayne Quan to the foundation and the journal. This prize runs for 5 years, and we are currently evaluating papers for the 2025 prize. All research papers published in the JPN in 2025 will be eligible.

The 2024 Frances Wayne Quan Memorial Prize winners are:

GOLD Tuppurainen H, Määttä S, Könönen M, Julkunen P, Kautiainen H, Hyvärinen S, Vaurio O, Joensuu M, Vanhanen M, Aho-Mustonen K, Mervaala E, Tiihonen J. Navigated and individual α-peak-frequency–guided transcranial magnetic stimulation in male patients with treatment-refractory schizophrenia. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2024;49:E87–95 (https://www.jpn.ca/content/49/2/E87).

SILVER Simard S, Rahimian R, Davoli MA, Théberge S, Matosin N, Turecki G, Nagy C, Mechawar N. Spatial transcriptomic analysis of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the human brain. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2024;49: E319–33 (https://www.jpn.ca/content/49/5/E319).

BRONZE Tang J, Wu Q, Qi C, Xie A, Liu J, Sun Y, Yuan T, Chen W, Liu T, Hao W, Shao X, Liao Y. Widespread reductions in cortical thickness following ketamine abuse. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2024;49:E182–91 (https://www.jpn.ca/content/49/3/E182).

Please read the announcement for more details.

2024 CCNP Award Winners

Dr. Chad Bousman is the recipient of the 2024 Canadian College of Neuropsycho-pharmacology (CCNP) Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacology Award. . Dr. Bousman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of Calgary who has emerged as a thought leader in the field of pharmacogenetics and genomics, both nationally and internationally. Over the past 10 years, Dr. Bousman has developed and led an inter-disciplinary research team focused on the discovery, development, and implementation of genomic-based tools to guide clinical decision-making and improve mental health outcomes across the lifespan. His primary focus is on optimizing the selection and dosing of drug therapies used to treat mental health conditions.

Dr. Melissa Perreault is a recipient of the 2024 Canadian College of Neuropsycho-pharmacology (CCNP) Young Investigator Award. Dr. Perreault is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and a Research Leadership Chair at the University of Guelph. Her primary translational research focus is to understand the sex-specific cellular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. She also works to identify distinct neuro-physiological patterns that have potential as biomarkers of disorder states or therapeutic efficacy. In addition to this research, her industry-driven studies evaluate the neurobiological impacts of novel strains of whole psilocybin mushrooms. As a citizen of the Métis Nation, Dr. Perreault spends much of her time focusing on the ethics of neuroscience, in particular clinical research approaches in marginalized communities and the integration of Indigenous knowledge into Western neuroscience. She is a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists in the Royal Society of Canada, is an Indigenous Knowledge Holder for the Canadian Brain Research Strategy, and she is Lead of the Crosscultural Working Group for the International Brain Initiative.

Dr. Jibran Khokhar is a recipient of the 2024 Canadian College of Neuropsycho-pharmacology (CCNP) Young Investigator Award.Dr. Khokhar is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Translational Neuropsychopharmacology, Anatomy and Cell Biology at Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University and is a faculty member in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience. Dr. Khokhar’s research aims to understand the mechanisms underlying co-occurring serious mental illness and substance use disorders, using a variety of behavioural, pharmacological and translational neuroimaging techniques. In addition, his research interests also include assessing the long-term effects of adolescent drug (e.g., cannabis) use, and how these effects might contribute to the risk for serious mental illness and addiction. Lastly, Dr. Khokhar is also very interested in profiling the pharmacokinetic parameters related to different routes of exposure to drugs like nicotine and cannabis, as well as the impact of development and sex on these profiles. His current projects include: Impact of Vapourized Drugs on Brain Circuit and Function Across Development, Preclinical Neuroimaging for Co-Occurring Mental Illness and Substance Use in Animal Models and Treatment Development for Psychopathology and Addictive Disorders.

Dr. Marco Leyton is the recipient of the 2024 Canadian College of Neuropsycho-pharmacology (CCNP) Heinz Lehmann Award. Dr. Leyton completed his PhD training with Jane Stewart at Concordia University’s Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology (CSBN). As a post-doctoral fellow, he then learned how to conduct research in humans while training at McGill University with Ellen Corrin, Joanne Martial, Chawki Benkelfat, and Simon Young. Currently, he is a full Professor and Co-Director of continuing medical education in McGill’s Department of Psychiatry and a past-President of the CCNP (2010 – 2012). His research focuses on biopsychosocial causes of addictions and addiction-related disorders.

Dr. Jane Foster is the recipient of the 2024 CCNP Medal. Dr. Jane Foster is a Professor of Psychiatry who leads biomarker discovery in the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care (CDRC) and is a member of the Peter O'Donnell Brain Institute at UT Southwestern. She also holds an Affiliate Full Professor position in the Dept of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. Her work focuses on linking a person’s 30 trillion gut microbes and their propensity for mental illness. By combining basic science research with clinical collaboration in psychiatry, psychology, and gastroenterology, Dr. Foster’s research takes a ‘bench to bedside’ and back again approach to studying microbiota-brain and immune-brain systems. Her research has made significant contributions to studies on the etiology and potential diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders, with a particular focus on mood and anxiety disorders. This innovative and multidisciplinary research has involved very productive national and international collaborations. Jane is an internationally acclaimed researcher in translational research on the gut-brain axis, and her papers are cited widely. In her research, she has always emphasized translational research, and in her recent appointment as a Clinical Lead at UTSW she now has an outstanding opportunity to follow up her exciting foundational research on the gut-brain axis in a clinical setting.