Yvan Guindon, Director of the IRCM’s Bioorganic Chemistry research unit, yesterday received the Lionel-Boulet award, one of the prestigious Prix du Québec. This award highlights Dr. Guindon’s invaluable contribution to Quebec’s technological and economic development in the area of medicinal chemistry, and is a testimony to the quality and scope of his work, as well as his remarkable contribution to advancing knowledge in this area.
Dr. Guindon began his career in 1979 as part of the research team at Merck Frosst Canada. At that time, work on antagonists or inhibitors for leukotriene biosynthesis (putative mediators of asthma) was at the heart of their new drug discovery strategy. In 1987, he took on the role of Scientific Director at Bio-Méga, one of Quebec’s first biotechnology companies. Bio-Méga was acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim in 1988, and the company underwent significant growth under his stewardship. Based in Montreal, Dr. Guindon participated in the German corporation’s international management committee for research, and oversaw activities leading to the discovery of antivirals (HIV and herpes) and anti-hypertensive drugs (renin, ANF).
In 1994, Yvan Guindon became the Institute’s third President and Scientific Director. He also set up the Institute’s Bio-organic Chemistry Research Unit. He took on many challenges at the IRCM, and at the end of his mandate, in October 2004, the Institute was ranked as one of Quebec’s top research facilities. The Institute’s modernization and the additional space made available after its construction project is completed will further ensure the continuity of the IRCM, an institute of unquestionable pertinence and renown. Under the direction of Dr. Guindon, the IRCM also significantly increased its training mission.
Dr. Guindon is one of Canada’s most respected chemists. He has made significant contributions in the area of synthesis and biological chemistry, and has more than 50 patents and approximately 100 publications to his name. He is recognized internationally as an organic chemist, particularly for his contributions in the area of methodology. His group performed groundbreaking work in proving the possibility of using free radicals to create complex molecules in a controlled manner, resulting in an important breakthrough in organic chemistry.
As a result of Dr. Guindon’s work in the field of chemistry, he was named, at the age of 38, to Canada’s Academy of Science (Royal Society of Canada 1990), and more recently, in 2004, was made a member of the Order of Canada. Yvan Guindon is also a senior research fellow at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Chemistry department, as well as an Associate Professor at McGill University’s Chemistry department.
The Lionel-Boulet award honors researchers who have distinguished themselves through their inventions, their innovations and their leadership in business growth, as well as through their contribution to economic development. Lionel Boulet, who passed away in 1996, helped launch the Institut de research d’Hydro-Québec.
