Bernard Brais, MDCM, MPhil, PhD, FRCP(C) is Full Professor of Neurology and Human Genetics at McGill University in Montreal. He is a trained neuromuscular neurologist, PhD in laboratory human genetics and historian of medicine. He is the director of the Montreal Neurological Institute’s Rare Neurological Diseases Group since 2011, and he is the director of McGill’s Adult Neurogenetics Fellowship.

His specialized practice is centered on the diagnosis and rehabilitation of rare often undiagnosed neurogenetic diseases, in particular: myopathies, ataxias, sensory neuropathies and leukoencephalopathies. Dr. Brais’ laboratory for the past 20 years has largely focussed on identifying new genes and mutations that cause hereditary diseases that are more prevalent in the French Canadian population of Quebec due to founder effects. He played a key role in the first identification of the genes responsible for: Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (PABPN1, 1998), Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type II (HSN2/WINK1, 2004), Limb Girdle Muscular dystrophy LGMD2L-anoctamin 5 (ANO5, 2010), Posterior column ataxia and retinitis pigmentosa (FLVCR1, 2010), 0PolR3-related leukodystrophy (POLR3A and POLR3B, 2011), and congenital myopathy with fibre type disproportion (ZAK, 2017).  Since 2007, he has been an international leader on collaborative research on Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS).