Officer of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: May 7, 2015
• Invested on: May 13, 2016

For his achievements as an evolutionary biologist, notably as a pioneer of DNA barcoding.

Paul Hebert’s groundbreaking research on DNA barcoding has provided an unparalleled platform for species discovery and identification. A professor of integrative biology and Canada Research Chair in Molecular Biodiversity at the University of Guelph, he has improved the security of our food supply by controlling invasive species and protecting the environment. He also leads the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario and the International Barcode of Life Consortium, a worldwide project aimed at cataloguing all life forms in a publicly accessible database.