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Daphne Voineskos of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto has won the 2020 Polanyi Prize in Physiology/Medicine for her innovative work on depression and mental health.

The prestigious Polanyi prizes are awarded in honour of  John Polanyi, who won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Funded by the government of Ontario and administered by the Council of Ontario Universities, they recognize innovative researchers who are continuing postdoctoral work or have recently gained a faculty appointment. 

An assistant professor in the department of psychiatry, Dr. Voineskos studies the differences between healthy brains and the brains of people with treatment-resistant depression. She also researches a type of brain stimulation known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and is exploring how to enhance its effects by identifying predictive biomarkers of response in the brain that might allow doctors to personalize treatment. 

“The University of Toronto congratulates Dr. Voineskos on this important recognition of her work,” said University Professor Ted Sargent, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation and strategic initiatives. “Major depressive disorder is a disabling illness and she is poised to clarify, not just the neurophysiological dysfunction found in depression, but also how certain treatments work – research that will have an impact on the lives of many people.”