—Published in October 2024
Dr. Emil Skamene served the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) as Scientific Director from 1999 to 2006. It was his vision that led to the early plans and eventual launch of the RI-MUHC at the Glen site. In his research, Dr. Skamene paved the way for immunogenetics, making major contributions to scientific understanding of infection and immunity. He discovered the genes that control susceptibility to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy and malaria. With his team, he identified a gene, NRAMP1, which confers on carriers the ability to resist mycobacteria.
Emil Skamene was born in Buzacz, Poland, in 1941. He studied medicine at Charles University in Czechoslovakia. In 1968, he moved to Boston to complete his postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School. He completed his clinical training in allergology and immunology at McGill University.
At McGill University in 1988, he founded the Centre for the Study of Host Resistance, while continuing to care for patients at the Montreal General Hospital. He also directed the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation and was Principal Investigator of the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network. With colleagues Guy Rouleau and Philippe Gros, Dr. Skamene founded a biotech company focused on discovering new genes as a basis for developing therapeutic targets.
Recognized for his ability to bring people together and for his incredible dedication to his work, Dr. Skamene was appointed Scientific Director of the new Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre in 1998. He chaired the 12th International Congress of Immunology in Montreal in 2004 and was President of the World Congress of Genetics in 2011. Dr. Skamene published over 170 articles in leading journals and served on the review boards of multiple scientific journals. An active member of national and international scientific organizations, he was a frequent guest lecturer worldwide.
Dr. Skamene was appointed Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1997. He received numerous awards, including the Prix Armand-Frappier (2001), one of the Prix du Québec, the Prix Léo-Pariseau from the Association francophone pour le savoir (1994), the Izaak-Walton-Killam Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts (1992), the Medal of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Medicine (1980), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Award (1997), the American Society for Microbiology Award from the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (1994), the World Health Organization Award (1992) and the Cinader Award from the Canadian Society for Immunology (1991).
Dr. Skamene will be missed by many in the RI-MUHC. Our thoughts are with his family during these sad times.
A wonderful tribute can be found in his obituary in The Montreal Gazette.