Two new members appointed to CIHR governing council

Ottawa, ON – Dr James Brien and Dr Arthur Thomas Porter have been appointed to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) governing council for three-year terms.

Dr Brien is a professor of pharmacology and toxicology, as well as director of research within the Faculty of Health Science at Queen’s University. His research program in pharmacology and toxicology focuses on fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), with emphasis on related brain injury and the discovery of innovative treatment strategies. He holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Windsor, and received a postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacology from the University of Toronto.

Dr Porter is the director-general and CEO of McGill University Health Centre. He has held many prestigious positions in his career, including chief of the department of radiation oncology at the London Regional Cancer Centre and chairman of the department of oncology at Victoria Hospital in London, ON, where he specialized in treating prostate cancer. As president and chief executive officer of the Detroit Medical Centre in 2000, Dr Porter used his leadership skills to re-inspire this once demoralized organization into an exemplary institution that began attracting new doctors. Dr Porter has obtained several master degrees and has written over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles.

The appointments were announced by the federal minister of health, Tony Clement.