Dr. Samarthji Lal, from the Department of Psychiatry, is the winner of the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Distinguished Scientist Award for Schizophrenia Research. The award, worth $50,000, is given each year by the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation to a Canadian scientist who has achieved international recognition for research into the causes, psychopathology, treatment and prevention of schizophrenia.

Professor Michael Brecher, from the Department of Political Science, was elected as the president-elect of the International Studies Association for 1998-99. He will serve as the president of the ISA in 1999-2000. The ISA is the largest (more than 3000 members from 70 countries) and most prestigious organization in the world dedicated to the field of international studies.

Dr. Alan Barkun, director of McGill's gastroenterology program, won the Wilson-Cook Endoscopic Research Scholar Award. The prize, which goes to promising young clinical investigators each year, is presented by the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American Digestive Health Foundation. Barkun is the first Canadian ever to earn the award.

Dr. Jerry Pelletier, from the Departments of Biochemistry and Oncology, has received the William E. Rawls Prize. The award, worth $1,000, is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute of Canada and the drug company Eli Lilly Canada Inc. The prize is awarded to researchers who show great promise early in their careers. Pelletier identified key genes linked to Wilms tumour, a childhood kidney cancer.

Professor Henri Darmon, from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, was selected by the Canadian Mathematical Society as its 1998 Coxeter-James Lecturer. The honour is presented annually "to recognize young mathematicians who have made outstanding contributions to mathematical research." Previous winners include Darmon's departmental colleagues Professor Ram Murty and Professor Jacques Hurtubise.

Associate Vice-Principal (Research) Dr. Bernard Robaire was named the recipient of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society Award for Excellence in Reproduction. Robaire is one of Canada's leading experts on the male reproductive system.

Professor Laurie Chan, from the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, has been invited to serve as a member of the Expert Advisory Panel on the Review of Policies on the Addition of Vitamins and Minerals to Foods, organized by the Nutrition Research Division of Health Canada.

McGill earned second prize in the Canadian Association of University Business Officers' annual Quality and Productivity Awards. A web-based conference management system developed by Mr. Trevor Garland, manager of computerized office solutions in Information Systems Resources, and Ms. Sharon Spriggs, senior programmer in ISR, based on a concept by Ms. Joan Gross, manager of the McGill Conference Office, won the prize.

Ms. Anne Gildenhuys, a student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, was named the Quebec University Basketball League's player of the year. A star forward on the McGill Martlets, Gildenhuys's points per game average of 24 was second in the country among female university basketball players.