Shayna Rosenbaum

​It is an honour and privilege to have trained as a postdoctoral fellow under someone who is regarded as a pioneer in the fields of Clinical Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience and who had a tremendous influence on me long before I began my fellowship. Although my research as a graduate student was focused almost entirely on memory and the hippocampus, a lecture that Don gave to my graduate class added to my fascination with the frontal lobes from both scientific and clinical perspectives. I was determined to learn more under Don’s guidance, but Don had decided not to supervise another postdoctoral fellow at the time. Out of kindness, he agreed to meet with me to discuss career options, and I somehow left that meeting with a postdoctoral supervisor. I quickly learned that when Don decided to scale back, he ended up with twice as many obligations. However, few people in this world could build an internationally regarded research centre while balancing active, burgeoning research and clinical programs, and it is clear why so many clinicians, administrators, scientists, and patients, alike, admired and depended on Don’s talents and wisdom. In observing Don working with patients firsthand, I was fortunate to witness a unique blend of humanity and clinical insight. Because of scientist-clinicians like Don, real scientific discoveries are being translated into better practices. As a teacher, Don imparted the values of sharing ideas and of lifelong learning. I am proud to be a product of the unique and enriching environment that Don created at the Rotman. He had taken his many students and colleagues from Gerstmann to Geshwind to Gershwin, and it is comforting to know that we will continue to learn from him for years to come. May he rest in peace.