(Toronto, ON) June 21, 2023 – Celebrating 25 years of Canadian excellence, Canada’s Walk of Fame adds pioneering scientist and neuropsychologist DR. BRENDA MILNER to its ranks in the Science, Technology and Innovation pillar, presented by Sanofi Canada. World-renowned for her breakthrough research spanning more than seven decades into the human brain, Dr. Milner is best known for her work on memory formation and function of the brain. Professor Emerita at McGill University, she revolutionized the field of neuropsychology, combining neurology and psychology, and is considered one of the most important neuroscientists of the twentieth century.

WATCH Dr. Milner’s reaction to her Induction from her home in Montreal.

“It means a lot to receive this honour from my adopted country and to be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. Who knows what I’ll get when I’m 110! I’m feeling lucky, and I’m grateful,” Dr. Brenda Milner, 2023 Canada’s Walk of Fame Inductee.

“We are excited to shine a bright light on this extraordinary Canadian innovator. Dr. Milner’s tireless and eager research of the human brain was ground-breaking, and her insatiable curiosity shook up the field of neuroscience with her research on brain health and aging, all from her home base in Montreal in 1950,” said Jeffrey Latimer, CEO, Canada’s Walk of Fame.

“Sanofi Canada thanks and congratulates Dr. Milner for her historic and innovative advancements that have increased scientific understanding of behavioural neuroscience, in Canada and around the world,” said Stephanie Veyrun-Manetti, country lead and general manager, Specialty Care, Sanofi Canada. “Our company’s purpose is to chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. Dr. Milner did just that and we can deeply connect with her approach and breakthrough findings.”

With today’s announcement, Milner joins previously announced 2023 Inductees, including a champion of Human Rights and Social Justice, The Honourable Rosalie Silberman Abella (Humanitarianism); the iconic Canadian youth culture phenomenon, Degrassi (Arts and Entertainment); Canada’s record-breaking NHL Sensation, Connor McDavid (Sports and Athletics); and beloved television superstar and influential commentator, Rick Mercer (Arts and Entertainment). More Inductees will be announced in the coming months, along with this year’s Allan Slaight Music Impact and National Hero Honourees.

The star-studded Canada’s Walk of Fame 25^th Anniversary Celebration will take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Saturday, December 2, 2023, featuring memorable performances and tributes from today’s brightest stars and esteemed Alumni from the past 25 years. A special broadcast will air at a later date on CTV.

Plans are underway for special public events, programming and experiences to commemorate 25 years of celebrating Canadian greatness. Follow #CWOF25th for updates. For more information on Canada’s Walk of Fame, visit www.canadaswalkoffame.com.

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About Brenda Milner

Milner’s career spans an unprecedented 70 years — 60 of those years as a researcher at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill University. Her contributions and research in clinical neuropsychology revolutionized our understanding of how brain structures govern different learning, memory, and speech functions, exploring the interaction between the brain’s left and right hemispheres while studying the behaviour of young adult patients with epilepsy. She is a pioneer in cognitive neuroscience and is world-renowned for her work on memory.

Born in Manchester, England, on July 15, 1918, Milner began studying at Cambridge University in 1936. During the Second World War, she worked in Britain’s Ministry of Supply, where she met her future husband, Peter Milner. While completing her MA at Cambridge in 1944, Brenda and Peter moved to Canada, where Peter, an electrical engineer, was invited to work with physicists on atomic research. Settling in Montreal, Milner joined the Institut de Psychologie at the Université de Montréal, where she taught for seven years. In 1950, she resumed her academic studies at McGill University in the Department of Psychology, investigating the intellectual effects of temporal lobe damage in humans, earning herself a Ph.D. in 1952. In an early example of cognitive neuroscience research, Milner discovered the existence of multiple memory systems in humans, ground-breaking at the time and spurring a huge body of international research. She also showed that the temporal lobes of the brain play a key role in memory.

The 1957 article – Scoville and Milner, 1957 – published the results of her memory research, catapulting her as one of Canada’s best-known scientists, garnering national and international media attention. The article has since become one of the most cited publications in neuroscience.

Milner is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Order of Canada, the Dan David Prize and the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, the Prix Hommage du 50e anniversaire from the Ordre des psychologues de Quebec and induction into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame. In 2007, The Brenda Milner Foundation was created thanks to a major donation by Milner to support post-doctoral fellowships in cognitive neuroscience at The Neuro. The American Psychological Association (APA) created the Brenda A. Milner Award for the best paper in behavioural neuroscience by a recent Ph.D. graduate. These sponsorships ensure that Milner’s name will continue to resonate in the neuroscience community for years to come.