Michael J. Strong MD, FRCP(C), FANN, FCAHS

Dr. Michael J. Strong became the President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in October 2018. Prior to this, he served as the Dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University where he continues to hold an appointment as a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, and as a Scientist at the Robarts Research Institute. He was co-chair of the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences and Chief of Neurology from 2001 – 2010. He undertook his medical training at Queens University in Kingston (1976 – 1982), neurology training at Western University (1982 – 1987), and postgraduate training at the Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies (director - D. Carleton Gadjusek, Nobel Laureate) at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland under the supervision of Ralph M. Garruto, PhD (1987 - 1990).

Dr. Michael Strong has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and 29 chapters, edited 4 textbooks, and given over 170 invited lectures nationally and internationally related to his research in ALS. Dr. Strong was awarded the Sheila Essay Award in 2005 and the Forbes Norris Award in 2008 and is the only Canadian to have received both international awards for ALS research. He was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology in 2008. In 2009, he was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Dr. Michael Strong's research has focused on understanding the cellular biology of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) including the role of altered RNA metabolism in the genesis of neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions and in the clinicopathological correlates of the frontotemporal spectrum disorder that can be associated with ALS. The latter has led to an appreciation for the role of alterations in tau protein metabolism in ALS.