By McGill Reporter Staff
Following the resignation from McGill of Professor Hélène Perrault to take up duties as Dean of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa, the University has appointed Dr. Dilson Rassier as Interim Dean of the Faculty of Education.
“After considerable consultation with the academic leadership of the Faculty, I am pleased to announce that Dr. Dilson Rassier has accepted to serve as Interim Dean of the Faculty of Education effective immediately,” said Professor Anthony C. Masi, Provost and Acting Principal & Vice-Chancellor, in a message to the McGill community.
Dr. Rassier has agreed to serve in that capacity as McGill undertakes an international search to fill the position permanently.
For the last three years in his role as the Faculty’s Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Students, Dr. Rassier has facilitated the ongoing development of successful research programs, as well as the coordination of graduate student life across the Faculty. He is an Associate Professor and a McGill William Dawson Scholar in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education. He is also an Associate Member in the Departments of Physiology and Physics, and in the Meakins-Christie Laboratories. Dr. Rassier completed his undergraduate degree in Physical Education (1988) followed by his Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology (1994) in Brazil. He obtained his Ph.D. in Muscle Physiology (1998) from the University of Calgary and conducted his post-doctoral training in muscle biophysics in different laboratories in Canada and the US.
Dr. Rassier is a well-published scholar of scientific articles and book chapters, and he has presented his work around the world to broad audiences of scientists as well as to the general public. He has been awarded a number of prestigious distinctions and his research has been generously supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI). Dr. Rassier directs the Muscle Physiology and Biophysics Laboratory at McGill, focussing on basic and applied research on the mechanisms of muscle contraction in health and disease.
“I am delighted that the Faculty will benefit from Dr. Rassier’s extensive research, teaching, and administrative experience,” Masi said. “He has assured me of his commitment to ensuring the Faculty of Education can continue to grow and develop its activities successfully in this interim period. Please join me in congratulating and thanking Dilson Rassier for his willingness to serve McGill in this way.”