2008-18
February 5, 2008
OTTAWA - The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, today announced the appointment of Dr. Pierre Chartrand as Acting President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Governing Council. In addition, Dr. Nicole Letourneau was appointed as a new member and Dr. William (Bill) Thomlinson was re-appointed to his current position, both for three year terms.
"The appointment of Dr. Pierre Chartrand as interim president of CIHR will ensure continued leadership in research and strong dedication to improving the Canadian health care system," said Minister Clement. "The Governing Council will also benefit from the knowledge and experience brought by Dr. Nicole Letourneau, and the ongoing contributions of Dr. Bill Thomlinson."
A competitive process is currently underway to permanently appoint a President for the Canadian Institute of Health Research.
Dr. Chartrand currently serves as Vice President of the Research Portfolio at CIHR, and is a Professor at the University of Montreal in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology in the Faculty of Medicine. Prior to joining CIHR in 2006,
Dr. Chartrand was the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, and an Associate Researcher at the Montreal General Hospital. He has also served on the board of the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ), where he led one of the strongest cancer networks of the FRSQ. Throughout his career, he has served on a number of health and research related committees, been the recipient of several awards, and has published extensively in leading academic journals.
Dr. Nicole Letourneau joins CIHR as a Full Professor from the Faculty of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick, and a Research Fellow at the Canadian Research Institute for Social Policy. Her work maintains a strong focus on maternal mental health and children's health, and as such, her experience will contribute greatly to CIHR's work on human development, child and youth health. She is a two-time recipient of CIHR's
New Investigator Award, honouring her ongoing contribution to the health research field. Her findings are regularly featured in Canadian and international publications.
Dr. Bill Thomlinson is the Executive Director of the Canadian Light Source Synchrotron facility in Saskatoon, a scientific research facility dedicated to studying the chemical properties of materials through the use of brilliant light. He is a world-renowned expert in synchrotron medical imaging. Among his many accomplishments, he was part of a team of scientists that invented and patented a diffraction enhanced technique for medical imaging, led the first blood vessel imaging study at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France, and created and led the Synchrotron Medical Research facility in New York. Dr. Thomlinson is widely published and also holds a tenured position in the University of Saskatchewan's Department of Physics.
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Laryssa Waler
Office of the Honourable Tony Clement
Federal Minister of Health
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