Mr. Speaker, the Governor General's Academic Medal, created in 1873 by Lord Dufferin to encourage and celebrate academic greatness by a student in a Canadian school, is awarded to the best and brightest, scholars such as Pierre Trudeau, Kim Campbell and Tommy Douglas. Award winners have gone on to be leaders in industry, science, and yes, government.
Today, Guelph proudly celebrates that its own Dr. Adriano Senatore will be awarded a gold medal for his Ph.D. graduate work. Dr. Senatore's work at the University of Waterloo on the evolutionary analysis of ion channels provided unexpected insights into their fundamental properties, and sheds more light on how neurons, muscle and other excitable cells function and how abnormal function can lead to disease in humans.
Adriano's brilliant work will no doubt contribute not only to Guelph, but to Canada's reputation as a great incubator for important research and researchers.
On behalf of all members in the House, I wish to extend my congratulations on his remarkable achievement.