Sixteen McGill researchers appointed Canada Research Chairs

App. $16 million in federal funds to be shared by 14 newly named, two renewed CRCs

Sixteen McGill University researchers exploring issues from human genomics to neuroscience to the history of science in Islamic societies are among the 98 newly appointed Canada Research Chairs announced May 23 by Dr. Colin Carrie, Secretary to the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry and minister responsible for the Canada Research Chairs Program.

McGill received six Tier-1 and ten Tier-2 Chairs, for a total of $13,400,000. In addition to that amount, the Canada Foundation for Innovation is investing approximately $2.5 million to fund research infrastructure essential to the work done by 15 of those Chairs.

“Our newly released science and technology strategy–Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage–recognizes the importance of doing more to turn ideas into innovations that provide solutions to our environment, health and other important challenges, and to improve Canada’s economic competitiveness,” said Parliamentary Secretary Colin Carrie. “We are investing in promising researchers who turn ideas and innovations into practical and commercial applications for the benefit of all Canadians.”

The Government of Canada created the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program in 2000 to establish 2,000 research professorships across the country by 2008, with the aim of making Canada one of the world's top five countries for research and development. Since then, McGill has used its CRCs to recruit an exceptional group of international researchers as well as to repatriate a number of outstanding Canadian and Québécois researchers from postings abroad.

"The Canada Research Chairs Program continues to serve as an exceptional federal government instrument to allow Canada to attract and keep in Canada scholars and scientists from around the world,” said McGill Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum. "We are exceptionally proud of what all our CRCs have accomplished and look forward to the next wave of knowledge and innovation from these new appointees.”

McGill's newest Canada Research Chairs:

Luis B. Agellon
Tier 1
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canada Research Chair in Emerging Roles of Nutrigenomics and Nutrigenetics in the Molecular Regulation of Metabolism in Health and Disease
$1,400,000

Shelley Clark
Tier 2
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Canada Research Chair in Youth, Gender and Global Health
$500,000

Kim M. Cornish
Tier 1
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canada Research Chair in Developmental Neuroscience and Education
$1,400,000

Florence S. Dzierszinski
Tier 2
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canada Research Chair in Parasite Pathogenesis
$500,000

Bruno Giros
Tier 1
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canada Research Chair in the Neurobiology of Mental Illness
$1,400,000

Pascal Hubert
Tier 2
Renewal Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Canada Research Chair in Advanced Composite Materials
$500,000

Elizabeth A. V. Jones
Tier 2
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Canada Research Chair in Embryonic Biomechanics
$500,000

Pavlos Kollias
Tier 2
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Canada Research Chair in Radar Applications in Weather and Climate Research
$500,000

Stéphane A. Laporte
Tier 2
Renewal
Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Research Chair in Molecular Endocrinology
$500,000

Luc Mongeau
Tier 1
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Canada Research Chair in Flow-Induced Sound and Vibrations
$1,400,000

Wissam S. Musallam
Tier 2
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Canada Research Chair in Neural Prostheses
$500,000

Tomi Pastinen
Tier 2
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canada Research Chair in Human Genomics
$500,000

Faiz Jamil Ragep
Tier 1
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Canada Research Chair in the History of Science in Islamic Societies
$1,400,000

Ralf Schirrmacher
Tier 2
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canada Research Chair in Synthesis of Novel Radiopharmaceuticals for Positron Emission Tomography in Neurology and Oncology
$500,000

Amir Shmuel
Tier 2
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience and Brain Imaging
$500,000

Michael J.L. Sullivan
Tier 1
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Health
$1,400,000