Dr. Judy Illes receives the CSPC 2025 Trailblazer Award in Science for Policy

Congratulations to Dr. Judy Illes, IBI Chair, for receiving the CSPC 2025 Trailblazer Award in Science for Policy!

Dr. Illes’ work has brought a new lens to the way that neuroscientists do their work today, not only by guiding the way that they attend to the possible unexpected clinical consequences of their work, but to the importance of integrating multicultural considerations into study design, analysis, and delivery of results that mitigates biases and ensures meaningful and just outcomes. Her trailblazing work has had a major impact on policy making in Canada and around the world. In 2025, Dr. Illes represented Canada as members of UNESCO gathered to negotiate the recommendations on the ethics of neurotechnology – expected to be adopted in the form of soft law at the UN General Assembly.

Under her leadership with the IBI Crosscultural Working Group and sponsorship from the prestigious Brocher Foundation, global leaders came together to discuss issues surrounding Indigenous research and Indigenous perceptions on mind and brain health. Alongside her publications in Nature and Nature Reviews Neuroscience on Indigenous capacity building in neuroscience, these researchers have contributed a volume on Crosscultural Perspectives on Mind and Brain, part of the book series Developments in Neuroethics and Bioethics of which Dr. Illes is Editor in Chief. This volume, alongside her other 11 books on neuroethics are considered seminal resources for the field today.

Globally, when one speaks of neuroethics, one speaks of Dr. Judy Illes. She has put science and society for brain health and people with neurologic conditions on the world map and, in doing so, has demonstrated an outstanding level of talent and service to people in Canada. It is estimated that 80% of neuroethicists in the field today have directly or indirectly learned under Dr. Illes’ tutelage or are otherwise connected with her professional family – truly an impact felt around the world.

For more details about the award, please visit: https://sciencepolicy.ca/posts/judy-illes/