Samarthji LAL

OBITUARY Dr.SAMARTHJI LAL LRCP (Lond.) MRCS (England) MB, BS, FRCP(C), ABPN, FAPA PROFESSOR of PSYCHIATRY, McGILL UNIVERSITY On November 1, 2009 at the Montreal General Hospital, Dr. Samarthji Lal, husband of Dr. Maureen Kiely, father of Sikander (Alex) Lal, father-in-law of Victoria Marin, brother of Dr. Shivaji Lal, London England and Lt. Col (retd) Shambhuji Lal, Pune India. Brother-in-law of Martin Kiely, Montreal and Rev Brian Kiely, Edmonton, Uncle to Joanna Lal, London England, Tara Lal, Sydney Australia, Dr. Daniel Kiely, Calgary, Patrick and Shannon Kiely, Montreal, Lily and Elora Kiely, Edmonton and the late Adam Lal, London England. Friend of Rev. Peter Hawkins, the late Dorothy Perkins and the late Dr. Karl Schlatter. Born in London, England, the son of the late Dr. Yadu Nandan Lal and Om Kumari (Ram) Lal of London and Farrukhabad, India. He was educated at public schools in England and India: Dulwich College Preparatory, Clayesmore, La Martiniere, Woodstock, and the Polytechnic Institute, before graduating in 1962 from Guys Hospital Medical School, University of London. Following an internship at Victoria Hospital, London Ontario, Dr. Lal spent two years in residency training at Connecticut Valley Hospital before returning to Montreal to complete his residency at Queen Mary Veterans Hospital and obtain his McGill Diploma in Psychiatry. In 1967, Dr. Lal was awarded a four year Medical Research Council of Canada Fellowship to study at the Allan Memorial Institute with the internationally recognized neurochemist, Dr. Theodore Sourkes. It was there that he met and later married a young Ph.D. student, Maureen Kiely. In 1971, he embarked on a series of clinical studies with apomorphine. Dr. Lal is credited with introducing apomorphine and clonidine as pharmacological probes of dopaminergic and alpha-2 adrenergic function in clinical research and was the first to demonstrate the ability of apomorphine to induce penile erections in normal subjects and in patients with impotence of diverse causes. In 2001 apomorphine was marketed, in Europe and Asia, under the trade name UPRIMA as a treatment for impotence. In 1979, Dr. Lal co-founded the Douglas Mental Health University Institute Research Centre with Dr. N.P.V. Nair. In 1980 he established Canada's first brain bank at the Douglas, the only one still in existence in Canada. In 1991, he played a pivotal role in obtaining funds from the EJLB Foundation to set up the McGill Centre for Research in Schizophrenia. The success of the Centre, under his leadership, led to the establishment, in 1997, by the Boeckh Family Foundation of the Graham Boeckh Chair in Schizophrenia at McGill. Although he was the author of more than 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals and textbooks, Dr. Lal was a full-time clinician. A consultant at the Queen Mary Veterans Hospital (1971-78), he was on staff at the Montreal General Hospital and at the Douglas Hospital until his death. Dr. Lal was Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University, Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and Fellow of the Canadian College for Neuropsychopharmacology. He was board certified in Canada and in the U.S. and was licensed in Quebec, Ontario, the United Kingdom and the State of Michigan. In recognition of his contributions to psychiatry, Dr. Lal was the recipient of the CCNP Heinz Lehmann Award in 1986, the Joey and Toby Tannenbaum Distinguished Scientist Award for Schizophrenia Research in 1997, and the 2002 CCNP Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacology Award. The family wishes to express their thanks to Dr. Lal's colleagues at McGill University, the Montreal General Hospital and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute for their support and encouragement to Dr. Lal during the last few months. We are deeply grateful to Drs. Vicky Baffis and Serge Mayrand for their extraordinary care and compassion; to Drs. Groenewege and Karine Igartua for keeping close watch over Dr. Lal and to Ms. Nadia Zajac for her dedication and hard work while managing his office for 30 years. In lieu of flowers, donations to Schizophrenia and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 6875 Lasalle Blvd, Verdun, Qc H4H 1R3 would be most gratefully appreciated. A memorial service will be held on Friday, November 20, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. at Mount Royal Commemorative Services, 1297 Chemin de la Foret, Outremont, Qc H2V 2P9 logo Published in the Montreal Gazette on 11/7/2009