CIHR names new acting president

Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has named Dr Pierre Chartrand as acting president of the organization, effective November 18, 2007. In his role, he will act as the CIHR’s chief executive officer and will be responsible for its day-to-day management and direction.

Dr Chartrand is currently the vice president of research at CIHR. Prior to joining CIHR, he was the chief executive officer of the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, and a full professor in the department of pathology and cellular biology in the Faculty of Medicine at the Universite de Montreal.

He holds a PhD in microbiology and immunology from the Universite de Montreal and did postdoctoral training at the Institute of Virology of the Medical Research Council of Great Britain before setting up his laboratory at the Universite de Sherbrooke. He later served as director of the Institut du cancer de Montreal.

Dr Chartrand succeeds Dr Alan Bernstein, who is leaving the CIHR at the end of October.