Dr. Alex MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D, is a Full Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa with a cross appointment to the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. He received his MD in 1983 and his PhD in Medical Biophysics in 1986, both from the University of Toronto. He received his pediatric certification in 1989 from the University of Ottawa and is a member of the attending staff at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa. From 2000 to 2010 he served as the CEO and Science Director of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute as well as Vice President of Research for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. He also served in 2003/2004 as Vice President of Research, Genome Canada. Dr. MacKenzie works on the molecular genetics of pediatric disease with current research focus on the molecular genetics of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Dr. MacKenzie has been the recipient of Medial Research Council Scientist and Burroughs Wellcome Clinical Scientist Awards. He has been awarded the Researcher of the Year award by the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada and a Champions of Genetics award by the Canadian GeneCure Foundation.