Richard P. Bazinet, PhD

Department of Nutritional Sciences
Canada Research Chair in Brain Lipid Metabolism

Mid-Career Excellence in Graduate Teaching & Mentorship
Graduate Faculty Teaching Awards

Biography

Dr. Bazinet received his BSc from the University of Western Ontario and completed his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Cunnane at the University of Toronto in 2003. Dr. Bazinet then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Dr. Stanley Rapoport’s Brain Physiology and Metabolism Section at the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bazinet joined the University of Toronto in 2006, where he is currently a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Brain Lipid Metabolism. Dr. Bazinet is the recipient of several awards, including the Early Career Award from the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids; the Jordi-Folch-Pi Memorial Award from the American Society for Neurochemistry; the Future Leaders Award from the International Life Sciences Institute, the Young Scientist Award for the American Oil Chemists’ Society, the Early Researcher Award from the Canadian Society for Nutrition and a the Ralph Holman life time achievement award from the Oil Chemists’ Society. Dr. Bazinet sits on several editorial boards and is currently Editor-in-Chief of Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids as well as a Senior Associate Editor of Lipids. The overall goal of Dr. Bazinet’s research program is to identify the mechanisms that regulate brain lipid metabolism (signaling) and to identify the role of brain lipid metabolism in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. Dr. Bazinet has published over 150 papers, largely in the field of brain fatty acid metabolism and is co-author of the joint WHO/FAO joint expert consultation on dietary fats and the central nervous system during aging and disease. Dr. Bazinet is currently the president of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL).

Quote from the Winner

“Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies.” ― Nietzsche

About the Award

This award was established in 2002 to recognize sustained contribution to graduate student mentorship exemplified by, but not limited to: major involvement in graduate student learning, enthusiastic and empathic critical appraisal of students’ work, timely assessment of students’ research programs including program advisory committee meetings and prompt turnaround of written work, and careful attention to a critical path laid out for students’ research.