NMD4C Announces 2023 Early Career Award Recipients

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.

Congratulations to the early career award recipients! Photos of the three recipients, with text reading biomedical researcher of the year, clinical researcher of the year, publication of the year.

Read next...

NEWS_ Nomination and Application Deadlines

2026 NMD4C Application & Nomination Deadlines

As we start the new year, three important NMD4C opportunities are approaching their deadlines. Members are invited to nominate a researcher or publication for the Annual NMD4C Awards, apply to join the Basic Science Trainee Committee (BSTC), and apply to attend the 2026 NMD4C Basic Research Summer School, taking place June 8–10 under the leadership of Dr. Mireille Khacho. Registration for the summer school is free, with travel and accommodations covered for non‑local trainees.

Website - NMD 2026 Fellows

Announcing the 2026 Neuromuscular Postdoctoral Fellowship Funding Recipients! 

Together with Muscular Dystrophy Canada (MDC), we’re excited to share that the 2026 Neuromuscular Postdoctoral Research Fellows have been awarded! This year’s competition provided salary support for two exceptional early‑career scientists to pursue postdoctoral research in Canadian laboratories dedicated to advancing neuromuscular research. Successful applicants will receive $40,000 in funding over a one-year period.

Web - NMD4C Website Updates Resource & Training Hubs

NMD4C Website Updates: Resource & Training Hubs

We’re excited to share some updates to the NMD4C website! We’ve created two hubs, the Resource Hub and the Training Hub to make it easier for all our members to find e-learning tools, and research resources!