Dr. Susan George wins Prix Galien 2019 Award for pharmaceutical research

by 22q Administrator

One of our collaborators, and an endocrinologist familiar to many of our patients with 22q11.2DS, Dr. Susan George, received the Prix Galien 2019 Canada Research Award – often described as the equivalent of a Nobel Prize in pharmaceutical research.

Dr. George and her co-recipient, Dr. Brian O’Dowd, both of the University of Toronto, identified 70 previously-unknown G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). These types of proteins are often involved in interactions with medications. The discoveries of Dr. George and Dr. O’Dowd, along with expansion of the work by a pharmaceutical company, will pave the way for new drug development.

Dr. George, an endocrinologist at the Toronto General Hospital, sees many patients with 22q11.2DS for related hormonal conditions such as thyroid disease and hypoparathyroidism (low calcium).

Congratulations, Dr. George!