The Christine Gagnon Memorial Travel Award

Christine Gagnon was an exceptional graduate student at McGill University under the supervision of Dr. Kristine Koski. In 1996, she was a finalist in the graduate student competitions of both the Canadian Society for Nutritional Sciences and the American Society for Nutritional Sciences. Being a finalist for both societies is a tremendous feat and was a testament to the excellence of her abilities. However, before she was able to present at either competition, Christine Gagnon was tragically killed in a car accident. For many of us in CNS, the tragedy was indelibly marked when Dr. Koski went on to the stage at the ASNS student competition at Experimental Biology in Washington to read Ms Gagnon’s presentation to a silent audience.

To honour her commitment to excellence in research, in 1996 CSNS established the Christine Gagnon Memorial Travel Award through donations from CSNS, ASNS and private donors. And as of 2001 Nestle Nutrition has provided continuing financial support to make this an annual award. Since 1996, many excellent future leaders of nutrition have Christine Gagnon’s name on their CV as a testament to research excellence in nutrition in Canada.