Samuel Weiss (born 1955) is a Canadian

neurobiologist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, neural circuits, and glia, and their behavioral, biological, and psychological roles in health and disease. ...

Biography

Weiss was an undergraduate at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, where he received a

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

in 1978. He then went on to take his Ph.D. in Neurobiology at the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

. From 1983 to 1988 he held two postdoctoral fellowships funded by the AHFMR and the Medical Research Council of Canada (now the

Canadian Institutes of Health Research The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; ; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada. CIHR supports ...

), the first at the Centre de Pharmacologie-Endocologie,

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and the second at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

College of Medicine. He was appointed Assistant Professor and MRC Scholar at The University of Calgary in 1988. In 1985 Dr. Weiss and Fritz Sladeczek discovered the

metabotropic glutamate receptor The metabotropic glutamate receptors, or mGluRs, are a type of glutamate receptor that are active through an indirect metabotropic receptor, metabotropic process. They are members of the group C GPCR family, group C family of G-protein-coupled r ...

, currently an extremely important area of research for

neurological disorders Neurological disorders represent a complex array of medical conditions that fundamentally disrupt the functioning of the nervous system. These Disorder of consciousness, disorders affect the brain, spinal cord, and nerve networks, presenting unique ...

. Dr. Weiss was appointed Assistant Professor and MRC Scholar at The University of Calgary in 1988. In 1992, while working at the University of Calgary, Dr. Weiss and graduate studen
Brent Reynolds
found cells in the brains of fetal and adult mice that divided to produce new cells. They claimed that they successfully isolated

stem cells In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...

and got them to divide and multiply in a lab dish. The success of this experiment suggested that stem cells could be coaxed into producing new cells to replace damaged or destroyed brain cells. His discovery of the metabotropic glutamate receptors opened a major new research area and currently the G-protein coupled metabotropic glutamate receptors ( GRMs/mGluRs) have been implicated in the aetiology of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

, in amyloid beta-peptide toxicity,

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) is an incurable, always fatal neurodegenerative disease belonging to the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) group. Early symptoms include memory problems, behavioral changes, poor coordination, visu ...

and

Fragile X syndrome Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder. The average IQ in males with FXS is under 55, while affected females tend to be in the borderline to normal range, typically around 70–85. Physical features may include a lo ...

. His discovery of adult mammalian central nervous system stem cells has generated two new and important perspectives. First, neural development continues throughout the lifetime of adult mammals. Second, insights into ongoing adult cell production will allow for the use of stem cells to repair

neural tissue Nervous tissue, also called neural tissue, is the main tissue component of the nervous system. The nervous system regulates and controls body functions and activity. It consists of two parts: the central nervous system (CNS) comprising the brain ...

and allow for functional recovery from brain and spinal cord injury or disease. Dr. Weiss has shown how

prolactin Prolactin (PRL), also known as lactotropin and mammotropin, is a protein best known for its role in enabling mammals to produce milk. It is influential in over 300 separate processes in various vertebrates, including humans. Prolactin is secr ...

increases the production of new brain cells and that new stem cell-generated brain cells can be redirected to part of the rodent brain that are damaged after

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

which results in partial improvement of the animals ability to move its limbs. He is now trying to link the two to aid stroke recovery. Currently Dr. Weiss is a Professor in the Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy/Pharmacology & Therapeutics and a member of the Genes and Development Research Group Faculty of Medicine University of Calgary. He is also the director of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, sits on numerous national and international peer review committees, has authored many publications, holds key patents in the neural stem cell field and has founded two biotechnology companies. The second company, Stem Cell Therapeutics, is currently developing his discoveries for the treatment of various CNS disorders, including stroke.

Honours and awards

* 2002: Fondation IPSEN (France) prize in Neuronal Plasticity * 2004: Canadian Federation of Biological Societies Presidents’ Award in Life Sciences Research * 2008:

Gairdner Foundation International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a ...

"for his seminal discovery of adult neural stem cells in the mammalian brain and its importance in nerve cell regeneration" * 2009: Elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

* 2010: CCNP Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacology Award. * 2023: Order of Canada

Bibliography

*Reynolds, B.A. and Weiss, S. (1992) “Generation of neurons and astrocytes from isolated cells of the adult mammalian central nervous system” (''Science'' 255, pp 1707–1710) *Weiss, S., Reynolds, B. A., Vescovi, A., Morshead, C., Craig, C.G., and van der Kooy, D. (1996) “Is there a stem cell in the mammalian forebrain?” (''Trends in Neurosciences'' 19, pp 387–93) *van der Kooy, D. and Weiss, S. (2000) “Why stem cells?” (''Science'' 287, pp 1439–1441)

References

External links

Weiss' page at Calgary
(archivated link) {{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Samuel 1955 births Living people University of Calgary alumni McGill University Faculty of Science alumni Canadian biochemists Canadian neuroscientists Scientists from Calgary Place of birth missing (living people) Members of the Order of Canada