Division of Neurology

John Turnbull

MD, PhD, FRCPC

Professor, Head, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine

 

 

 

Education and Professional Standing

Dr. John Turnbull received his Honours B.Sc.. in Theoretical Physics and Chemistry from York University, a Masters Degree in Mining and Metallurgical Engineering from Laval University, and a Ph.D.. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Montreal. He received his MD degree from the University of Western Ontario, obtained his fellowship in Internal Medicine from McMaster University, and his fellowship in Neurology from the University of Western Ontario. He undertook two years of post-doctoral training at the University of California (Irvine), at the Centre for the neurobiology of Learning and Memory.

He is former examiner for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Neurology, and presently Chief Examiner for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Neurology. He is Chair and Assistant Dean, McMaster University, for Continuing Education in the Faculty of Health Sciences. He is Chair of the Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine CME Committee, and Chair of the Board of Directors for the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges. He is former Director of the Occupational Medicine Residency Program at McMaster.

His chief clinical interests are in motor neuron diseases, and in neurotoxicology.

Research Interests

Dr. Turnbull's chief research interests are in motor neuron diseases and education. He has and active laboratory investigating models of ALS using transgenic animals and molecular biological approaches, and is involved actively in Specialty Clinics trials in ALS. Research in education has included acting as principal investigator in large scale efficacy trials of collaborative approaches to CME involving all sixteen Canadian medical schools, the neuropsychological assessment of incompetent physicians, and the effect of selective brain stimulation on learning and memory in animals and humans.

Selected Publications

  1. Turnbull J. Bench to Bedside in Medical Education. Academic Medicine. 1999;74:664-666.
  2. Turnbull J, Molloy W, Reddy K, Jiang F. Neurostimulation of the medial septal nucleus in Alzheimer's disease. Canadian Congress of Neurological Sciences, Edmonton. Can J Neurol Sci 1999;26:S45.
  3. Turnbull J, Turnbull J. Institutional impediments to competency assurance in Canada. Forum of the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges. 1999;32:1-10
  4. Jiang F, DeSilva S, Turnbull J. Beneficial effect of ginseng root in G93A transgenic mice. J Neurological Sci. 2000;180:52-54
  5. McEachern G, Kassovska-Bratinova S, Raha S, Tarnopolsky MA, Turnbull J, Bourgeois J, Robinson B. Manganese superoxide dismutase levels are elevated in a proportion of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient cell lines. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2000;273:359-63.
  6. Hanna E, Premi J, Turnbull J. Results of remedial CME in dyscompetent physicians. Academic Medicine 2000;75:174-176
  7. Turnbull J, Carbotte R, Hanna E, Norman G, Cunnington J. Cognitive difficulty in physicians with impaired competence. Academic Medicine 2000;75:177-181
  8. J. Turnbull, S. MacLeod, J. Gray, J. Hux, A. Jacques, F. May, N. McCullough, D. Willison for the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges, Ottawa, Canada. Clinical pharmacology and CME in partnership: A trans-Canadian initiative to improve benzodiazepine prescribing. World Conference on Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Florence, July 2000.
  9. Martin J, Turnbull J. Lasting impact, and ongoing needs, in families months to years after death from ALS. Submitted (J ALS and related motor neuron disorders).