New president appointed to National Research Council

Ottawa, ON – Dr Pierre Coulombe has been appointed president of the National Research Council.

“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Coulombe as President of the National Research Council,” says David Emerson, minister of industry and minister responsible for the NRC. “With a wealth of experience in university, public and private sectors, Dr Coulombe is well equipped to support the commercialization of science, making Canada more innovative and competitive in the development, deployment and use of new technologies. I look forward to the continued growth of Canada’s research base and the success of the NRC under his leadership.”

As former chairman of the board and CEO of the Centre de recherche industrielle du Qubec, Dr Coulombe developed strong experience as a leader of a research organization committed to commercialization. In addition, he was president and CEO of Infectio Diagnostic, where he helped showcase Canada’s leadership in medical research and diagnostic technology, completing two rounds of private equity financing and negotiating major research contracts for the company.

In the public sector, Dr Coulombe held the office of assistant deputy minister (technology) with the government of Qubec. He earned bachelor degrees in arts and physics engineering, as well as a PhD in experimental medicine at Universit Laval, and was assistant professor of medicine at Universit Laval.