June 6, 2011 — David R. Colman, PhD, director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro), McGill University, has died.

Dr. Colman was Wilder Penfield Professor of Neuroscience at McGill and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience. He passed away unexpectedly early on the morning of June 1 at the Montreal General Hospital. He had been ill for the past few months, but his physicians and friends felt he had turned a corner and was on the road to recovery.

"We are shocked and saddened by this devastating news," McGill University Principal Heather Munroe-Blum, PhD, and the Hon. Arthur T. Porter, MD, director general and chief executive officer of McGill University Health Center, said in a joint statement. "Our deepest sympathies go out to Dr. Colman's family and The Neuro community at this most difficult time. We know he will be deeply missed by all whose lives he touched."

Dr. David R. Colman

Born in 1949 in New York, Dr. Colman attended the prestigious Bronx High School of Science and went on to receive his bachelor of science degree in biology, with minors in English and geology, from New York University (NYU) in 1970, and later his PhD in neuroscience from the State University of New York in 1977.

After completing postdoctoral training with New York University cell biologist David D. Sabatini, MD, PhD, Dr. Colman became an assistant professor of cell biology at NYU School of Medicine. In 1987, he joined the faculty of The Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons as an associate professor of cell biology.

There he received several prestigious awards, including an Irma T. Hirschl Career Development Award, the Harold and Golden Lamport Award, the Basmajian Award for Teaching and Research, and a Jacob K. Javits Neuroscience Award from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke.

In 1993, he moved to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where he was the Annenberg Professor of Molecular Biology and Neuroscience, the vice-chairman for research in the Department of Neurology, and the scientific director of The Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis of The Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

In September 2002 he moved to Montreal to become director of The Neuro.

"Dr. Colman was deeply committed to Wilder Penfield's original vision of an integrated research and clinical institution. Through his championship of The Neuro and all the people who work there, he drew people in, captivating them with the promise of a new neuroscience," Dr. Munroe-Blum and Dr. Porter write.

Under his leadership, The Neuro launched a $40 million capital campaign and was named one of the first Canadian national Centres of Excellence in Research and Commercialization.

Dr. Colman approached science with a strong conviction in basic, curiosity-driven research, and he believed in approaching problems from every angle. This commitment led to the multidisciplinary neuroengineering program at McGill and innovative programs in neuropalliative care, as well as a major expansion in brain imaging at The Neuro.

Dr. Colman was also a mentor to many. "He nurtured and encouraged young students to be curious about the world around them," Dr. Munroe-Blum and Dr. Porter state in their release.

He championed the Integrated Program in Neuroscience and was spearheading a collaborative project with the National Film Board of Canada to create an educational 3-dimensonal IMAX film about neuroscience for preteens at the time of his untimely death.

Dr. Colman's work focused on problems related to myelination, spinal cord injury, and nerve cell development and regeneration. His laboratory has promoted the understanding of how nerves are protected and nurtured by the myelin sheath in the brain and in the peripheral nervous system and how nerve cells communicate with each other across the synapse. He was on the editorial boards of Neuron and Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience and was the author of more than 110 scientific publications in top-tier scientific journals, including Science, Nature, Cell, and Neuron.

A private funeral and burial service will take place in New York. A memorial service is being planned in Montreal at a future date. A memorial fund has been set up in his honor. In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations may be sent to the David Colman Memorial Fund, Neuro Development Office, Montreal Neurological Institute, 3801 University St, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2B4, or call 514-398-8825.