Born: May 29, 1919, Montreal, Quebec
Education: M.D. - University of Montreal; Harvard University

Jacques J.G. Genest completed his M.D. at his hometown university, the University of Montreal. Following post-doctoral work at Harvard, he continued clinical research work at Johns Hopkins University and the Rockefeller Institute. Returning to Canada, he became founder and scientific director of the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal. He became the pre-eminent Canadian investigator of the cause and treatment of high blood pressure, exploring the roles of the adrenal and the kidney.

Genest and his colleagues encouraged hundreds of medical researchers to obtain post-graduate degrees from both McGill University and the University of Montreal, and to continue in careers of clinical research. A renowned researcher in his own right, and recipient of many honours, Genest was concerned with ethics in medicine and established a Bioethics Research Centre as part of the Clinical Research Institute.