David Colman

David R. Colman (January 4, 1949 – June 1, 2011) was an American neuroscientist who served as Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) at McGill University and McGill University Health Centre until his death in June 2011.

Under his leadership, The Neuro maintained its position as a world-renowned integrated research and clinical academic medical centre that has been dedicated to neuroscience since its founding in 1934. Colman's research centers on the role of cell adhesion molecules in the formation and maintenance of the myelin sheath, and in adhesion between pre- and post-synaptic membranes. His research group studied regeneration of neural connections after spinal cord injury.

Early life and education

Colman was born in New York City and grew up in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. Inspired as a boy in the 1950s by movies and TV science and science fiction shows such as Gateway to the Mind, Watch Mr. Wizard, and Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, he attended The Bronx High School of Science and earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from New York University. Colman was awarded a doctorate in neuroscience from the State University of New York, Health Sciences Center in Brooklyn, New York in 1977 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the laboratory of David D. Sabatini at New York University School of Medicine.

Career in academia

In 1983 he was appointed Assistant Professor at NYU School of Medicine, and in 1987 left NYU to become an Associate Professor in the Departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Pathology at The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (New York). In 1993, Colman moved to Mount Sinai Hospital to become the first Annenberg Professor of Molecular Biology and Neuroscience. In 2000, he was named Scientific Director at the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis and Vice Chairman for Research in the Department of Neurology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In 2002, Colman accepted a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair and moved to McGill University as the Wilder Graves Penfield Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital.

NeuroEngineering, one of Colman's academic initiatives at McGill, is a consortium of neurobiologists, physicists, chemists and engineers who are conducting research on regeneration in the nervous system by creating a biological interface with artificial matrices to restore function after spinal cord injury. Colman also committed to new clinical programs at The Neuro such as the Neuropalliative Care Program to provide care for patients with life-threatening neurological disease. In recognition of its contribution in basic, clinical and translational research under Colman's leadership, The Neuro was recognized by the Canadian government in 2007 as a Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research.

In service to the professional community, Colman was a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the Gairdner Foundation, and a consultant to the National Science Foundation (US) and to the Ministry of Research and Innovation of Ontario, Canada, and a member of grant review panels and editorial boards of scientific journals. In service to the public, Colman committed The Neuro to regular educational outreach activities for young people to inspire their curiosity and interest in science. To support this effort, he initiated a partnership with the National Film Board of Canada and international partners to produce a 3D giant screen film on the brain which will be completed in 2012.

Awards

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research Establishment Award (2002)
• New York State Spinal Cord Injury Trust Award (2001–2003)
• Jacob K. Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award, National Institutes of Health (1990–1997)
• Basmajian/Williams and Wilkins Award (1993)
• The Lamport Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research (Columbia University, 1992)
• Career Award, Irma T. Hirschl Charitable Trust (1985–1990)
• National Research Service Award (National Institutes of Health, 1979–1981)