The Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences (CSMB) is awarding McMaster University Professor Eric Brown its prestigious Arthur Wynne Gold Medal.
Awarded every two years, the Wynne Medal is the organization’s highest honour, recognizing scientists who have made outstanding and sustained contributions to molecular biosciences in Canada.
Brown, a Distinguished University Professor in McMaster’s Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and a member of the university’s Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, is being honoured for his internationally renowned research in the areas of bacterial systems biology and antimicrobial drug discovery.
“My lab is primarily focused on the largely unexplored biology that helps bacteria survive,” explains Brown. “By better understanding how these biological systems work, we can uncover new strategies for developing antibiotics and other antibacterial therapies.”
This work has led to major breakthroughs published in top scientific journals, new made-at McMaster intellectual property, and the launch of promising Canadian spinout companies, including Synmedix, a biotech firm built on a Brown Lab platform that enhances the efficacy and spectrum of antibiotics, enabling them to treat infections that are otherwise drug-resistant.
In recent years, Brown has also leveraged his drug discovery platforms and know-how to mine fungi for molecules with therapeutic potential against neurological conditions and other non-infectious indications — work he is commercializing though Kapoose Creek Bio, of which he is CEO.
Brown, who served as president of the CSMB from 2006 to 2007, is the first McMaster scientist to receive the Wynne Medal, which has been awarded for nearly 20 years. He joins a distinguished group of Canadian researchers whose collective work has shaped the field of molecular biosciences globally.
It was only a matter of time before the university found its way into the group of honourees, Brown says.
“McMaster is home to some of the country’s most talented biochemical and biomedical scientists,” says Brown, who is part of the NexusHealth executive team at McMaster. “I don’t view this recognition as a reflection of my own work; rather, as a tribute to the strength of the research community here at the university and the collaborative spirit that drives so much of the work happening in my lab and elsewhere on campus.”
Brown will formally receive the Wynne Medal on April 10 at the CSMB’s annual conference in Banff, Alta.