President
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Dr. Michael J. Strong is Dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Distinguished University Professor at Western University, where he holds the Arthur J. Hudson Chair in ALS Research. He is a scientist at the Robarts Research Institute, and served from 2000 to 2010 as the Chief of Neurology and Co-Chair of the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences at the London Health Sciences Centre and Western University. He has also served as Co-chair of the Canadian ALS Research Consortium and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the ALS Society of Canada. Dr. Strong is the lead investigator for the Ontario Neurodegenerative Research Initiative.
Dr. Strong’s clinical research is focused on understanding the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He is particularly interested in the occurrence of non-motor manifestations of the disease including the cognitive, behavioural, and emotional syndromes associated with ALS, and in the role of advanced neuroimaging techniques in determining who amongst the ALS population is at risk for one or more of these syndromes. His research into the causation of ALS has also focused on defining the role of alterations in neuronal intermediate filament metabolism, including early recognition for the role of RNA-mediated gene silencing through fundamental alterations in microRNA and RNA binding protein expression.
Dr. Strong has published over 185 peer-reviewed articles and 29 chapters, edited four textbooks and given over 160 invited lectures nationally and internationally related to his ALS research. He is a recipient of both the Sheila Essey Award and the Forbes Norris Award, the only Canadian to have received both awards for ALS research. He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his contributions to ALS research and care.
Dr. Strong earned his degree in medicine at Queen’s University, undertook neurology training at Western University, and completed postgraduate studies at the Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.