On Campus

Clement names new president for Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Neuroscientist who taught at McGill will be new head

A neuroscientist who taught at McGill University and worked at the Montreal Neurological Institute has been appointed to head the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, it was announced Thursday.Most recently, Dr. Alain Beaudet has been president and chief executive officer of the Fonds de la recherche en sante du Quebec, or FRSQ.

He will fill the vacancy left by the departure of Dr. Alan Bernstein, who was named the first executive director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise last October. Dr. Pierre Chartrand has been acting president since Bernstein’s departure.

Beaudet’s appointment takes effect July 1.

“I am certain that Dr. Beaudet’s extensive management experience and strong health science background will be of great benefit to the CIHR,” Health Minister Tony Clement said in a statement.

“His proven track record as a leader in brokering partnerships between federal and provincial health research organizations and funding agencies makes him well-suited for his responsibilities as president, and will ensure the Institutes continued stewardship in research.”

Beaudet holds a medical degree and a PhD in neuroscience from the Universite de Montreal. He did postdoctoral training at the Centre d’etudes nucleaires in Saclay, France, and the University of Zurich’s Brain Research Institute in Switzerland.

He served as president of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience from 1995 to 1997.

CIHR is the government’s funding agency for health research. It comprises 13 institutes, and provides support to close to 11,000 health researchers and trainees across the country.

-with a report from CP 

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