[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/patrickseale_opt.jpg” caption=”Patrick Seale”]Patrick Seale, a student in McMaster's Department of Biology, will be awarded the 2003 Governor General's Academic Gold Medal at Convocation today.

The Governor General's Academic Medal is awarded to the graduate student who achieves the highest academic standing in his/her graduate degree program.

Seale has been awarded the medal for his exceptional academic performance and his seminal research contributions in developing a more profound understanding of fundamental mechanisms underlying muscle regeneration and cell specification.

He has published many major publications and reviews in top-tier journals such as Cell, Developmental Cell, Journal of Cell Biology and Nature Genetics Reviews. The contributions from his work have had a huge impact in the field of stem cell biology and regenerative myogenesis.

Seale's basic research contributions have also been the source of considerable excitement amongst researchers devising novel therapies for treating degenerative muscle diseases such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.