Edward Fon appointed Director of The Neuro at McGill University and the MUHC-Santé Québec, and Chief of the Neuroscience Mission at MUHC-Santé Québec

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Edward Fon, MD, as Director of The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), a joint position of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill University and McGill University Health Centre-Santé Québec (MUHC-Santé Québec), as well as Chief of the Neuroscience Mission at MUHC-Santé Québec. Dr. Fon will assume his new functions effective June 1, 2026, succeeding Dr. Guy Rouleau, who has led The Neuro since 2013.

An attending neurologist, professor and clinician-scientist listed among the top 1% most cited researchers in the world by Clarivate, Dr. Fon has served as Scientific Director of The Neuro since 2015 and Associate Chair of the Department of Neuroscience since 2016. He is also Director of the McGill Parkinson Program (a Parkinson’s Foundation Centre of Excellence) and Co-Director of the Canadian Open Parkinson Network. Together, these roles position him exceptionally well to take the leadership reins of The Neuro and bring its ambitions to fruition.

Dr. Fon earned his M.D. from Université de Montréal in 1989, completed a neurology residency and a clinical and research fellowship in neurogenetics at McGill University, and pursued postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco, where his genetic studies advanced the understanding of dopamine transmission. He returned to The Neuro in 1999. Since then, his research has focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying the neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease, with particular emphasis on α-synuclein, GBA1, LRRK2, parkin, and PINK1—genes implicated in familial forms of the disease. Through the development of patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models, his work is paving the way for innovative therapeutic strategies by shedding light on the mechanisms of neurodegeneration. A Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Dr. Fon holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Parkinson’s Disease and is supported by the CIHR, Brain Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

As Director of The Neuro, Wilder Penfield Chair and Professor of Neuroscience and Chief of the Neuroscience Mission, Dr. Fon will assume the strategic, operational, academic, and financial responsibilities for The Neuro, while overseeing McGill campus-based research and education programs as well as clinical care, research and teaching activities at MUHC-Santé Québec and the Research Institute of the MUHC. Broadly, Dr. Fon will develop the structures and mechanisms to sustain and enhance clinical care, research and teaching excellence in the neurosciences at all levels; enhance the provincial, national and international profile of The Neuro as a hub for path-breaking research with clinical impact in neurosciences, and help advance the vision for modern infrastructure at the Glen site of MUHC-Santé Québec.

We express our deepest gratitude to Dr. Rouleau for serving two terms and extending his mandate while a search process for a new director was underway. In addition to being a preeminent researcher, Dr. Rouleau has influenced The Neuro’s success in myriad ways, including the growth of clinical programs that have contributed to strong advances in clinical care for patients with neurological disorders, the launch of the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute and Clinical Biospecimen Imaging and Genetic Repository (one of the largest biorepositories of neurological disorders in the world) to increase the potential for medical breakthroughs, and the recruitment of more than 40 world-class faculty members and clinicians. Dr. Rouleau continues to serve as Chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University until September 2026.

Please now join us in congratulating Dr. Edward Fon on his appointment and wishing him a rewarding and successful mandate as we steer together The Neuro and the field of neurosciences to new heights.

Lucie Opatrny, MD MSc, MCHC FRCPC, President and Executive Director, MUHC-Santé Québec

Lesley Fellows, MDCM DPhil, Vice-President (Health Affairs); Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University