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Current Medical Perspectives
Michael G. Fehlings, M.D., Ph.D., FRCSC
Nav Persaud, B.Sc. (0T6)
research in cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying spinal
cord injury is supported by peer-reviewed funding from a number of sources including the Canadian Institute of Health
Research, Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, American
Paralysis Association and the PSI Foundation. He has published numerous peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and
abstracts chiefly in the area of spinal cord injury and complex
spinal surgery.
Personal History
Date of Birth: November 6th, 1958
Birthplace: Toronto
High School: Richview Collegiate Institute, Toronto.
Pets: None.
Hobbies: Sports-cycling, hockey, skating, skiing, crosswords,
reading, spending time at the cottage in Muskoka.
Academic & Professional History
Dr. Michael Fehlings is a professor of neurosurgery at the
University of Toronto, medical director of the Krembil
Neuroscience Centre and head of the spinal program at the
University Health Network. He holds the Krembil Chair in
Neural Repair and Regeneration at the Toronto Western
Hospital Research Institute. Dr. Fehlings received his MD
(1983) and PhD (1989) in neuroscience from the University of
Toronto. After completing a residency in neurosurgery at the
University of Toronto and receiving fellowship certification
(FRCSC) in 1990, Dr. Fehlings undertook postdoctoral research
and clinical training in spinal cord injury and complex spinal
surgery at New York University Medical Center.
Dr. Fehlings has been a University of Toronto faculty member
since 1992. He combines a focused clinical interest in spinal
cord injury and complex spinal disorders with a basic and clinical research program in these areas. Dr. Fehlings is a career
scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Health and a recipient of
the Royal College Gold Medal in Surgery. His laboratory
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University of Toronto Medical Journal
Family: Dr. Fehlings is married to Darcy Fehlings, associate
professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto. The couple have three children: Tara (17), Lauren (15), and Nick (12).
Research
Dr. Fehlings’ research focuses on the pathophysiology of spinal
cord injury, one of the leading causes of disability in young
adults and children. His laboratory is attempting to elucidate the
cellular and molecular changes that underlie spinal cord degeneration following traumatic spinal cord injury. Understanding
these changes will aid in the development of therapeutics that
protect or restore neurons after injury. Sparing even a fraction
of neurons affected by spinal cord injury would make a
tremendous impact on the lives of patients and could be the
difference between being able walk or not.
Dr. Fehlings’ laboratory is investigating the role of Na+-channel opening, proteases activated during apoptosis, and Ca2+
excitotoxicity in the cellular and molecular changes that follow
injury. Prospective therapeutics being studied by Dr. Fehlings
that may spare neurons following spinal cord injury include
Na+-channel blockers, anti-apoptotic agents and drugs that
reduce Ca2+ entry into cells. Recent work funded by the CIHR
is examining the use of stem cell transplants to repair the
chronically injured spinal cord.
Selected Awards
Medical Research Council of Canada Postdoctoral Fellowship
(1986)
American Association of Neurological Surgeons G.M.
Neurotrauma Award (outstanding neurotrauma research) (1987)
K.G. MacKenzie Award, Canadian Neurosurgical Society, for
the best neurosurgical research paper by a resident in Canada
(1987)
Questions
What career would you have chosen if not medicine or
research?
Herbert Jasper Prize in Neurophysiology from Canadian Society
of Clinical Neurophysiologists (1988)
Law.
J.C. Laidlaw Award for outstanding research in Medical Science
at the University of Toronto (1988)
What is your favourite book?
K.G. McKenzie Research and Training Award, Royal College
of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (1991)
The Stone Carver by Jane Urquart
Ontario Ministry of Health Career Scientist Award (1992-2002)
What is your favourite quote?
“I'm a lucky man. The harder I work--the luckier I get.” –
Thomas Edison
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Gold
Medal Award in Surgery (1996)
What was the best advice you received from a mentor?
Allan Bruce Robertson Award for Outstanding Young
Investigator in Medical Science at the University of Toronto
(awarded by the Clinical Research Society of Toronto) (1997)
“Never let a lack of money stand in the way of your research
dreams” – Charles Tator
Cervical Spine Research Society Award for Outstanding
Research in the Fields of Cervical Spine Disorders (1996, 2000)
Premier's Research Excellence Award. (1999)
What advice would you give to a medical student who is interested in research?
You can combine excellence as a clinician and excellence in
research. The key is to align a clinical focus with your research
interests and to ensure that the two complement each other.
Awarded the Krembil Chair in Neural Repair and Regeneration
(2001)
The Cervical Spine Research Society Award (2002)
The Cervical Spine Research Society Award (2003)
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volume 81, number 1, December 2003
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