More than $15 million awarded for 18 Chairs
By Cynthia Lee
Eighteen McGill University researchers were among the newly appointed or renewed Canada Research Chairs (CRC) announced last week. The McGill researchers who made the list are experts in their fields, ranging from Health Disparities to Pulmonary Critical Care.
The University received seven Tier-1 and 11 Tier-2 Chairs, including 14 renewals, and four new Chairs for a total of $15,300,000, the second-largest amount received by any Canadian university this year.
Of the four new chairholders announced, each received Tier-1 funding. Antoine Bechara, who is jointly appointed in the Faculty of Medicine (Psychiatry) and the Desautels Faculty of Management, was named as a CRC for his work in decision neuroscience. John Dalton, Institute of Parasitology, is a chairholder for his work in infectious diseases. His areas of research include the discovery of new classes of anti-malarial drugs.
Jay Kaufman, appointed to the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, studies health disparities and social factors associated with adverse reproductive outcomes and disparities in medical treatment. Alan Spatz, another new CRC, is jointly appointed in the Faculty of Medicine in the departments of Pathology and Oncology and studies molecular pathology, melanoma and the X-chromosome.
McGill’s 14 renewals include: Ehab Abouheif, Natural Sciences and Engineering, CRC in Developmental Evolution; Scott Bohle, Natural Sciences and Engineering, CRC in Chemical Biology; Jean-François Cloutier, Health, CRC in Developmental Neurobiology; David Colman, Health, CRC in Neuroscience; Ali Pejmun Haghighi, Health, CRC in Drosophila Neurobiology; Arnold Kristof, Health, CRC in Pulmonary Critical Care; Jacek Majewski, Health, CRC in Statistical Genetics; Ashok Malla, Health, CRC in Early Psychosis; Julio Martinez-Trujillo, Health, CRC in Visual Neuroscience; Christopher Pack, Health, CRC in Neurophysiology of Vision; Edward Ruthazer, Health, CRC in Neural Circuit Development; Simon Tran, Health CRC in Craniofacial Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering; Brigitte Vachon, Natural Sciences and Engineering, CRC in Particle Physics; Srikar Vengallatore, Natural Sciences and Engineering, CRC in Advanced Materials for Micro and Nanosystems.
Speaking at the University of Ottawa, the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), and the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, announced the investment of $165.5 million in 187 newly awarded or renewed Canada Research Chairs at 44 Canadian universities on March 26.
For the complete list of CRCs go to: http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/media-medias/lists-listes/2010/Recipients_list_E.pdf