Brain institute appoints new head

Toronto, ON – The board of the recently launched Ontario Brain Institute (OBI) has appointed Dr Donald Stuss as president and scientific director (interim).

Dr Stuss, university professor in psychology, neurology and rehabilitation science at the University of Toronto, comes to the OBI from Baycrest, an academic health sciences centre that is focused on aging and the study of human brain function. His research work includes the study of the frontal lobe of the brain, which underlies memory, cognition and consciousness. He investigates the interaction of emotion and cognition, and how brain function is affected by the aging process.

Previously, he was vice president, research at Baycrest; associate scientist, discipline of imaging in the program of neuroscience at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; and the CEO and scientific director (interim) of the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation, Centre for Stroke Recovery.

“Dr Stuss’s career as a clinician-scientist in the neurosciences will be invaluable in establishing liaisons with the breadth of the Ontario neuroscience communities and engaging the neuroscience leadership in Ontario universities and hospitals” said Dr Charles Tator, professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto; senior scientist, Toronto Western Research Institute, and member of the search committee.

Other members of the search committee included Dr Christian Fibiger, former senior vice president and CSO, Biovail Corporation; Dr Paul Garfinkel, former president and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Mr. Joseph Rotman, chairman, Roy-L Capital; Dr Michael Strong, dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario; Mr. Todd Vienneau, director, medical affairs, GlaxoSmithKline; and Dr Ronald Worton, former CEO and scientific director of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI).

The non-profit OBI was launched in November 2010 and received $15 million in start-up funding for the next three years from the Ontario government. Its goal is to become an internationally recognized centre of excellence in brain research, translation and innovation.