The Brescia School of Food and Nutritional Sciences Alumni of Distinction Award
Recognizes an alum who demonstrates significant impact in one or more of the following areas:
- Professional achievement
- The recipient is dedicated to their chosen profession and goes above and beyond in their line of work; they are a role model in their profession and this impact reaches groups, individuals, and/or their larger chosen profession
- Significant contributions to research and/or education
- The recipient stands out in the field of research as having made compelling and impactful progress towards the advancement of their discipline, and is committed to continuing their learning and education either through everyday practice or higher education
- Commitment to community and leadership
- The recipient is a leader who is committed to bettering their community or the Western community, successfully enriching the lives of others through community service and exemplary leadership
Current Winner
2025 Alumni of Distiction Award Recipient
Richard Bazinet
Dr. Bazinet received his BSc from the University of Western Ontario (1998) and completed his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Cunnane at the University of Toronto in 2003. Dr. Bazinet then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Dr. Stanley Rapoport’s Brain Physiology and Metabolism Section at the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bazinet joined the University of Toronto in 2006, where he is currently a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Brain Lipid Metabolism as well as the Associate Chair of Research and Innovation. Dr. Bazinet was the acting Chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences in 2023-2024.
Dr. Bazinet is the recipient of several awards, including, Early Career Award from the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (2008); the Jordi-Folch-Pi Memorial Award from the American Society for Neurochemistry (2010); the Future Leaders Award from the International Life Sciences Institute (2011), Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (2011), the Young Scientist Award for the American Oil Chemists’ Society (2012), the Early Researcher Award from the Canadian Society for Nutrition (2016), the Chinese Association for Health Promotion and Education (2018), the Ralph Holman life time achievement award from the Oil Chemists’ Society (2020), the Chevreul Medal from the French Society for the Study of Lipids (2023), the Supelco American Oil Chemists’ Research Award (2025) and the International Award from Society for Chemical Industry Research (2025). Dr. Bazinet has also received the Faculty of Medicine Early-Career (2011) as well as the Mid-Career (2021) Excellence in Graduate Teaching Awards from The University of Toronto.
Dr. Bazinet sits on several editorial boards and is currently Editor-in-Chief of Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids and was previously a Senior Associate Editor of Lipids. The overall goal of Dr. Bazinet’s research program is to identify the mechanisms that regulate brain lipid metabolism (signaling) and to identify the role of brain lipid metabolism in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Bazinet’s research is multidisciplinary but focuses on novel approaches to measure the turnover of lipids with an emphasis on translational research. Dr. Bazinet has published over 200 papers and given over 150 invited lectures, largely in the field of brain fatty acid metabolism and is co-author of the joint WHO/FAO joint expert consultation on dietary fats and the central nervous system during aging and disease and was previously the President and in 2023 became a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids.
