The G. Malcolm Brown Award was presented by Dr. Alan Bernstein, President, Canadian Institutes for Health Research, to Dr. Sergio Grinstein, University of Toronto. Dr. Grinstein gave a lecture at the CFBS 44th Annual Meeting: "Monitoring Phosphoinositide Signaling in Live Cells: Studies of Phagocytosis."

Dr. Grinstein is the head of the Cell Biology Research program at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute. He is one of the world's leading scientists in the field of cell biology, the study of processes within cells and of the interactions between them. Since arriving at the Hospital for Sick Children in 1979, Dr. Grinstein's research has focused on understanding the role of inorganic ions in cellular function, with particular emphasis in cells of the immune system. He has been particularly interested in the process whereby white blood cells engulf and kill invading microorganisms by secreting acid. Interference with these processes leads to devastating infections. His studies have also addressed the mechanisms of sodium absorption in the kidney and intestine, which are relevant to hypertension and diabetes.

Dr. Grinstein's collaborative research has led to important insights into the basis of a variety of disorders, including cystic fibrosis, and those involving the immune system. He has discovered basic mechanisms of cell function and has contributed tot he development of novel methods for measuring and manipulating the ionic concentrations in microscopic compartments within intact cells by noninvasive procedures.

His work has been recognized with numerous honours including the prestigious Distinguished Scientist Award from the former Medical Research Council of Canada, the Pitblado Chair in Cell Biology and twice, the title of Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Researcher Scholar.

The Canadian Federation of Biological Societies presented Dr. Grinstein with the G. Malcolm Brown Awrd certificate at the 44th CFBS Annual Meeting. CFBS would like to congratulate Dr. Grinstein on winning the 2001 G. Malcolm Brown Award.