Gold for highest academic standing awarded

Dr. Walter Swardfager has received The Governor General's Academic Gold Medal in the Sciences and Engineering division. The award, which was presented in a ceremony at the University of Toronto on May 30, is given to the student who graduates with the highest standing in her or his institution. It is generally regarded as the most prestigious honour given to a graduating graduate student at a Canadian university, and recognizes demonstrated academic excellence throughout his or her graduate studies.

Currently a post-doctoral research fellow in Sunnybrook Research Institute's Brain Sciences Program cross-appointed at the neighbouring Cardiac site of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Dr. Swardfager has continued to explore later-life mood and cognitive changes using novel neuroimaging techniques and genetic analyses. He completed his Ph.D. research in November 2011 under the supervision of professor Krista Lanctôt in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.