On March 26, the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal held its 2026 Luminas Awards ceremony. This award recognises the exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions of the CIUSSS’s staff, managers, doctors and researchers.
“I am very touched by the commitment and passion that drives all of our teams. This collective energy pushes us to innovate and to reach new heights”.
— Dan Gabay, President and CEO of the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
The jury has assessed all 85 anonymized nominations to select the finalists in each category. This year, the jury was composed of executive managers.
At this Recognition Gala, several members and teams from the Douglas Research Centre were honoured for their outstanding contributions.
Team categories
Partnership category
The award recognizes the team that has focused on partnerships outside the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal to improve the living conditions of the population. The achievements must have a positive impact on the quality of care and services offered to the population and on their delivery. The partnership may be with resources, institutions, community organizations within the network, outside the network, or in the private sector.
The CEYMH (Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health) project team, led by Dr. Lena Palaniyappan, has won an award in the “Partnerships” category.
This initiative aims to reduce the individual and societal impact of mental illness among young people, particularly in relation to psychotic, mood and attention disorders.
Their principles guide a clear mission: to transform the way mental health care is delivered, to genuinely facilitate access to services, and to disseminate the most advanced knowledge in youth mental health.
To achieve this, they are relying on a robust strategy: rolling out new initiatives directly with key stakeholders in clinical and community settings.
This means:
- Collaboration at all levels with young people and family members who have lived experience,
- Training for professionals who support young people on a daily basis,
- Practical and accessible workshops for young people,
- Mental health research carried out where young people and their families are.
By developing services that go beyond the narrow confines of research, they are committed to providing practical solutions to meet the needs of those requiring primary, secondary or tertiary care. Their aim is to help improve the care pathway and provide long-term support for young people’s well-being.
The team members recognized by this prize:
- Céline Villemus, directrice des opérations
- Adriana Redensek, Coordinatrice de recherche et académique
- Forrest Day Delarranaga, Coordonnatrice communautaire
- Tosh Watson, Coordonnateur des conseil de jeunes
- Chelsea Cuffaro, Coordonnatrice des initiatives epériences
- Rave Hudon, Représentant de la diversité
- Melissa PAlander, Coordonnatrice des plateformes
- Martin Silva Sellier, Navigateur jeurnesse
- Elsa Bernier, Navigatrice jeunesse
Individual categories
Innovation (physician)
The award is presented to a physician who stands out for their innovative healthcare projects. This distinction recognizes concrete solutions that improve the patient experience, the effectiveness of care, and commitment.
Dr. David Benrimoh received the “Innovation Prize”. This psychiatrist and researcher at the Douglas demonstrates exceptional leadership, strong management skills, and an innovative, rigorous research approach. By integrating artificial intelligence and digital medicine into clinical practice, he has made a meaningful impact on patient care across mental health. He led two major innovations. First, he helped develop the Aifred Clinical Decision Support System, an AI-powered tool for treatment selection in depression. With the Douglas as the main trial site, results showed faster improvement and higher remission rates, leading to Health Canada and FDA authorizations and international impact. Second, he leads research in digital phenotyping, combining questionnaire and passive data from smartphones and smartwatches to guide care between visits. Co-designed with people with lived experience and clinicians, these reports improved understanding and benefit.
Teaching and Research (physician, physician-researcher, and researcher)
The award is presented to a physician, physician-researcher, or researcher who stands out for their passion and commitment to integrating the clinical or administrative practices of a CIUSSS ODIM team into teaching or research activities that enrich the quality of the organization’s care and services and its capacity for innovation, while contributing to the university’s mission.
Dr. Lena Palaniyappan also received an individual award in the Research and Teaching category. Within his multidisciplinary team at the Douglas—comprising students, staff, early-career researchers and managers—he fosters an environment where everyone, regardless of their role, can learn, grow and contribute fully. He provides opportunities for academic development to anyone in his laboratory who demonstrates the necessary interest and determination. His leadership is rooted in a deep conviction: education and awareness-raising are powerful drivers, both for advancing science in his laboratory and for transforming the community. At every stage, he is committed to providing meaningful learning opportunities and fostering a climate where curiosity, knowledge-sharing and professional fulfilment are encouraged and valued.
CIUSSS ODIM’s Favorite
The award will be given to one person from among all the nominations received, across all categories. Through their actions and embodiment of the three organizational values, they will have inspired a special emotion in the entire jury.
Dr. Linda Booij has been awarded the ‘CIUSSS ODIM’s favorite’, an honour recognising her overall contributions to the CIUSSS in the fields of research, teaching and clinical practice. As clinician-researcher at the Eating Disorders Continuum (EDC), Dr. Booij makes excellent contributions to our CIUSSS in research, teaching, and clinical care. She ensures that clinical realities inform research and education, and that generated knowledge is effectively translated into clinical practice, in alignment with the EDC’s integrated clinical-research-teaching philosophy. Dr. Booij plays an active role in training future clinician-researchers and promotes evidence-based practice. Her work on atypical clinical profiles and long-standing eating disorders strengthens clinical decision-making, while her research on neurobiological mechanisms advances understanding of eating-disorder etiology. She also plays a key role in developing and evaluating training for health professionals across Québec to build system capacity, and in organizing educational activities for caregivers aimed at reducing stigma. Collectively, these contributions support the mission of our CIUSSS and reflect its values of agility, respect, and partnership.
Congratulations to all the individuals and teams recognised for their commitment to advancing mental health research and care!