NMD4C: The Neuromuscular Disease Network for Canada

We are excited to announce the recipients of the inaugural NMD4C Early Career Awards for 2023! This annual award program introduces three new awards, celebrating excellence and contribution to the neuromuscular field by early career investigators across both clinical and basic science streams.

This year, the NMD4C awarded three Early Career Awards as a part of this program: Early Career Biomedical Researcher of the Year, Early Career Clinical Researcher of the Year, and Early Career Publication of the Year.

We would like to congratulate this year’s recipients:

Early Career Biomedical Researcher of the Year award:

Dr. Nicolas Dumont, Associate professor, Rehabilitation department, University of Montreal

Early Career Clinical Researcher of the Year award:

Dr. Cam-Tu Émilie Nguyen, Neurologist, Assistant Professor, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal

Early Career Publication of the Year:

Dr. Farshad Babaeijandaghi, Postdoctoral Fellow, Fabio Rossi Lab, University of British Columbia

“Metabolic reprogramming of skeletal muscle by resident macrophages points to CSF1R inhibitors as muscular dystrophy therapeutics”.

By creating these awards, the NMD4C provides a method of recognizing outstanding achievement by early career neuromuscular researchers and clinicians on behalf of the Canadian neuromuscular community. Recipients receive a tangible accolade to bolster their academic CVs in pursuit of future academic appointments and grant applications. This award program is a part of the network’s broader strategy to provide support for Canadian early-career neuromuscular investigators.

“Early career investigators are at a stage in their careers where finding the funding and academic appointments to continue their research programs and clinical work is integral to their career progression in the field of neuromuscular care and research. These applications are highly competitive, and it is our hope that receiving an NMD4C award can help support and strengthen these applications to secure important research funding and academic appointments.”

• Dr. Natasha Chang, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, McGill University and NMD4C Early-Career working group member

Thank you to all those who submitted nominations for these awards; we received many strong applications, and we look forward to hosting these awards again for the coming year. More information on the application process for 2024 is available on our awards page.