Jack Bell Chair, Professor and Head Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia

Dr. Honer is a Canadian Leader in schizophrenia research. His laboratory studies identified abnormalities in proteins related to nerve cell communication as a fundamental mechanism of illness. His clinical research spans from the first episode of psychosis, to the more treatment resistant forms of illness. These studies demonstrated the benefits of antipsychotic medications in reducing symptoms, and in preventing relapses, but also the limitations of widely used strategies involving combinations of medications. Currently, Dr. Honer is working on novel strategies to modulate the plasticity or adaptive capacity of the brain, to reduce the burden of schizophrenia on patients and society.