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Strategic Appointments for Continued Leadership in Health Sciences Research
Over recent months, with the strong support and collaboration of the Principal, Provost and Vice-
Principal (Research and International Relations), we have reflected on the administration of
research in the health sciences. It is with great pleasure that I announce the following
appointments to build on our leadership in health sciences research and chart the course for
excellence in this century of biology.
Vice-Dean for Science and Strategic Initiatives
and Senior University Advisor on Health Sciences Research
Rémi Quirion
Dr. Rémi Quirion, full professor in McGill’s Department of Psychiatry and Scientific Director
of both the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health
and Addiction and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute Research Centre, is appointed
to the newly created position of Vice-Dean for Science and Strategic Initiatives and Senior
University Advisor on Health Sciences Research. Dr. Quirion is a distinguished, innovative
neuroscientist, educator and science administrator who has excelled in virtually every sector of
academic and international science. This appointment will begin April 1, 2009.
As Vice-Dean for Science and Strategic Initiatives, Dr. Quirion will be the lead ambassador for
the research enterprise of the Faculty of Medicine, representing our interests and recommending
novel solutions. In his role of Senior University Advisor on Health Sciences Research, Dr.
Quirion will play a major part in all key research initiatives and advise the Faculty on issues
spanning the spectrum of the life sciences. He will interact with the directors of the research
institutes, the deans of the Faculties of Medicine and Science, the Vice-Principal of Research and
International Relations, the Provost and the Principal, as well as with agencies outside of McGill.
Supporting Dr. Quirion are Dr. Marianna Newkirk, our new Associate Dean of Research, and Dr.
Elaine Davis, in the newly created position of Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies.
Dr. Quirion has been with McGill University for more than 20 years in the Departments of
Psychology, Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Pharmacology, as well as in the Centre for
Studies in Aging. Over his illustrious career, Dr. Quirion has emerged as an international expert,
including in his current research interests relating to brain peptides and their receptors, aging and
Alzheimer's disease, and central nervous system function. Dr. Quirion received his bachelor’s
degree in biology and his master’s and PhD in pharmacology from the University of Sherbooke.
One of the most highly cited neuroscientists in the world, Dr. Quirion has received more than 40
awards and honours over his career.
These two new roles Dr. Quirion will assume are of utmost importance to the University, Quebec
and Canada in reinforcing the oldest and most-cited faculty of medicine in this country, and one
of the most highly recognized universities in the world, as a leading health-sciences research
institution.
Associate Dean of Research
Marianna Newkirk
In her new role as Associate Dean of Research, Dr. Newkirk will provide critical support to Dr.
Quirion on all matters relating to funding agencies, special funding initiatives and research
relations with the Research Grants Office and the Office of International Research. She will
supervise the Coordinator of Investigator Funding and oversee the grant submission process for
all Faculty of Medicine researchers. Dr. Newkirk will also represent the Faculty at the Office of
the Vice-Principal, Research and International Relations on infrastructure, animal ethics and
other research-related issues.
Dr. Newkirk has been an esteemed member of our Faculty for more than 20 years, focusing her
work on autoimmunity in relation to rheumatic disease. Currently associate professor in the
Department of Medicine’s Rheumatology Division, she is also Co-founder and elected President
of Immunology Montreal. Dr. Newkirk received her PhD in immunology from the University of
Toronto in 1984 and her master’s in biology from Queen’s University.
Among the recognition that Dr. Newkirk has received throughout her career is the Award of
Exceptional Merit in 2005 from the Canadian Society of Immunology, in recognition of her
service in the advancement of immunology.
Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies
Elaine Davis
Dr. Davis, tenured associate professor in the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, and
Canada Research Chair, is appointed to the newly created position of Assistant Dean of
Graduate Studies, responsible for the creation of the overall structure and processes to meet the
Faculty of Medicine’s graduate and postdoctoral needs, in tandem with the requirements of the
Graduate Postdoctoral Studies Office. In this role, Dr. Davis will lead the implementation of
Faculty-wide graduate initiatives, chair graduate competition committees and supervise the
administration of graduate student and postdoctoral fellow funding. She will interact with
department chairs and graduate program directors to provide a forum for discussion on student
and postdoctoral issues at the Faculty level and to identify priorities. She will also participate in
the creation of new graduate programs.
Prior to joining McGill in 2002, Dr. Davis was an assistant professor in the Department of Cell
Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX and research
assistant professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at the Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. She has had extensive teaching, research and
graduate training experience, and is the recipient of several distinguished teaching awards. Dr.
Davis earned her PhD in anatomy from McGill University in 1992. She holds a master’s degree
in zoology and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Western Ontario.
Please join me in congratulating Drs. Quirion, Newkirk and Davis on their appointments to these
key positions, and in wishing them the greatest success.
Richard I. Levin, MD
Vice-Principal (Health Affairs)
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
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