As Director of the Human Retrovirology Research Unit and of the Immunity and Viral Infections Research Division at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM), Cohen was one of the first Canadian scientists to study HIV. His postdoctoral work identified two viral proteins which play a key role in the spreading and multiplication of the virus: Vpu and Vpr.

Born in Morocco, Cohen holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from Université de Montréal. He pursued his postdoctoral studies at the renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

Before joining the IRCM, he ran a lab specializing in the molecular biology of HIV within the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Université de Montréal, where he is currently a Full Professor. Cohen is also Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine (Division of Experimental Medicine) at McGill University. He has earned the title of Canada Research Chair in Human Retrovirology.

In 2007, Cohen and his team published the results of a breakthrough, opening the door to a new category of HIV medication. The study appeared in PLOS Pathogens, a prestigious online American scientific journal which is edited by the Public Library of Science. The team uncovered a cellular protein complex targeted by the HIV-1 Pvr protein, capable of halting the division of cells infected by the HIV virus.

In 2012, Cohen received the Marcel-Piché Prize, one of the highest honours awarded in the field of scientific research in Quebec and Canada.

Cohen is a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada.

Socalled was born in Ottawa, Ontario and raised in Chelsea, Quebec. He attended McGill University. His family is Jewish with Ukrainian, Romanian and Russian roots.

Socalled plays piano and accordion; he is also known as a rapper and producer. In addition to his solo career, he performs with his band, Shtreimel, and frequently collaborates with other musicians (Sophie Solomon, Chilly Gonzales, Fred Wesley, Killah Priest, etc.). He has performed and given workshops on “hiphopkele” at venues around the world, including KlezKanada and KlezFest London. He also written two musicals, The Season and Tales from Odessa.

In addition to being a musician, Socalled is a magician, photographer, cartoonist, animator, choirmaster, filmmaker, beatwriter and visual artist. He was profiled in the 2010 National Film Board documentary, The “Socalled” Movie, directed by Garry Beitel.

Learn More
https://www.socalledmusic.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socalled
http://palmaresadisq.ca/en/artist/socalled-jordana-singer-narcy/album/sleepover-1/

Born in Montreal, Melzack received a PhD in Psychology from McGill University in 1954.

In 1965, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he developed, along with the neuropsychologist Patrick Wall, the gate control theory of pain, one of the most cited theories in neuroscientific studies.

This revolutionary theory is based on the premise that pain is a multidimensional subjective experience “modulated” by our past experiences and that it “is not in our nerves but in our heads.” Gate control theory of pain has led to the discovery of endorphins and enkephalines – opiates which are found naturally in the human body.

Melzack is the author of the renowned “McGill Pain Questionnaire.” Translated into more than 20 languages, it is the most widely used method in the world for measuring pain in clinical studies. Melzack is the founding editor of Wall & Melzack’s Textbook of Pain. He is also a founding member of the International Association for the Study of Pain.

The scientific research conducted by Melzack has demonstrated that human beings are born with a “genetically determined neural network that generates the perception of the body, the sense of self, and can also generate chronic pain, even when limbs show no signs of pain.”

Along with Dr. Joseph Stratford, Melzack founded the first pain treatment clinic at the Royal Victoria Hospital, and was the clinic’s Research Director from 1974 to 2000. He was also the co-founder of the first pain treatment clinic at Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital, in 1974. These two clinics, affiliated with McGill University’s Health Centre, have become among the best international pain treatment centres.

Melzack was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1982 and was the first recipient of the E.P. Taylor Chair in Pain Studies at McGill University. He has received many prestigious honours and distinctions, such as the Prix du Québec, the Order of Canada, the National Order of Quebec, and the Grawemeyer Award for his research in pain treatment. In 2009, he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

Ronald Melzack is Professor Emeritus at McGill University.

Ifergan’s career in the performing arts began in 2009. He has played various roles in some 20 Quebec productions, on stage and on television. He has also directed a number of critically-acclaimed theatre productions. He holds a degree in Performing Arts from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

Ifergan has performed in several popular television series in Quebec including: Virginie, Délirium, Watatatow, Tout sur moi, Bienvenue aux dames, Trauma, Jeunes loups. In 2007, in a virtuoso performance, he portrayed every character in Z comme Zadig, an adaptation of Voltaire’s famous play, co-written with director Anne Millaire.

He has directed two plays so far: L’Augmentation by Georges Perec in 2013 and Le Visiteur by Éric Emmanuel Schmidt in 2016.

He has also acted in two short films: Sur la ligne, produced by Frédéric Desager, and Next Floor, produced by famed Quebec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. Next Floor received a Palme d’Or award for Best Short Film at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2003, Ifergan and Alexandre Frenette co-founded an artistic production company, Les Productions Pas de Panique. It has won several awards, including first prize in the Quebec Entrepreneurship Contest for the Montreal Region and the Prix pour la jeunesse, awarded by the Agence Québec-Wallonie Bruxelles. Les Productions Pas de Panique creates, produces and broadcasts artistic work for educational purposes.

In 2017, Ifergan will perform in the play Qu’est-ce qu’on a fait au bon Dieu? directed by the famous Quebec actress and producer Denise Filiatrault.

Born in Montreal, Sourkes went to high school in Quebec City. During World War II, he worked in Toronto at a chemical engineering company that produced weapons used for the war effort. After the war, he received a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from McGill University’s MacDonald College and went on to complete a Ph.D. at Cornell University. He spent some time working as an assistant professor of pharmacology at Georgetown University before joining the Merck Institute for Therapeutic Research where his notable discoveries led to the development of the medication Aldomet, the first effective treatment against hypertension. In 1953, he returned to teaching at McGill University’s Department of Psychiatry (at the Allan Memorial Institute of Psychiatry), where he pursued the rest of his academic career.

Sourkes was the director of the neurochemistry laboratory at the Allan Memorial Institute of Psychiatry. He was one of the first researchers to demonstrate that biochemical alterations in specific regions of the brain can also be a cause of mental illness. In addition, he was an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of nutrition, in particular for his studies which led to the use of the substance L-Dopa in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and the introduction of methyldopa into the pharmacological literature. This medication is largely used to treat hypertension. L-Dopa, which revolutionized Parkinson’s treatment, remains to this day the most effective treatment against the disease.

Sourkes was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada. He was the recipient of many prestigious honours and distinctions, including the first Heinz-Lehmann Award in Neuropsychopharmacology and the Wilder-Penfield Prize awarded by the government of Quebec. In 2013, in honour of his significant scientific legacy, McGill University established the Theodore Sourkes Lecture Series in Neuropharmacology.

Sourkes retired professionally in 1991. He was married to Dr. Shena Rosenblatt Sourkes, an anaesthesiologist, for 72 years.

Today, at 90 years in business, Reitmans Canada boasts over 800 stores across Canada, operating under six different banners, including Reitmans, RW & Co., Addition-Elle, Pennington, Hyba  and Thyme Maternity, making it Canada’s largest women’s clothing specialty chain, with nearly 10,000 employees.

As the chain flourished, so did the family’s commitment to philanthropy and social causes.  Over the years, the family has generously supported Combined Jewish Appeal, The Jack Reitman Hillel House at McGill University, Maimonides Geriatric Centre, The Jewish General Hospital, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts  and the Montreal Neurological Institute.

Of particular note are  the examples set by Herman & Sarah’s descendants; Dorothy Reitman,C.M.  a past President of  The National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, and of the Canadian Jewish Congress; Stephen Reitman, General Campaign Chair of the 2000 Combined Jewish Appeal Campaign and past Board Member of CIJA; Sarah Reitman-Rubin, Women’s Chair of the 2006 Combined Jewish Appeal  Campaign & Board Member of  North American Womens Philanthropy; Julia Reitman, past President of the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre and Chair of Jewish Federations of Canada / United Israel appeal;  and Allen Rubin, Past Chair of the Foundation of the Jewish General Hospital and Immediate Past President of the Jewish General Hospital.

À venir