November 16, 2005 Source: McGill University:
http://www.mcgill.ca/newswire/?ItemID=17555 McGill recruits top international researchers as Canada Research Chairs Source: University Relations Office (URO) [newswire]
November 16, 2005 McGill's standing as a top international research institution is again in the spotlight with the announcement of nine new Canada Research Chairs. The appointment of this group of leading researchers, including a number from the USA and Germany, will bring the total number of Chairs at McGill to 118. The researchers bring with them an exciting and diverse array of projects, including studies of better quality drinking water, improved networking for human rights, new understanding of the causes of lung cancer, and the early prevention of osteoporosis. "This is great news for the University," says Denis Thérien, the University's incoming Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations). Pointing to McGill's success in recent years in attracting Canada Research Chairs from abroad, Thérien adds, "The appointment of this group of top-flight scholars enhances an already strong research community, one which helps ensure McGill's competitiveness on the international scene." Proving that scientific research can affect our daily lives and the world we live in, the work of Lauren Chapman, the Chair in Aquatic Ecology and Conservation, focuses on the impact of oxygen-scarce water on fish diversity while the Chair in Vascular and Hypertension Research, Ernesto Schiffrin, seeks to identify new therapeutic treatment of high blood pressure, a condition that affects 30 percent of adult North Americans. For his part, Christian Rocheleau, the new Chair in Signaling and Development, is proof that science can be fun and scientists, playful. In the Canada Research Chair profile of his work on Caenorhabditis elegans genetics, hardly a household term, Rocheleau writes, "When it comes to genes and signaling pathways important for development and disease biology, the nematode worm C. elegans and humans have much in common. To understand the worm is to understand humankind." Eight of McGill's new Chairs will also receive infrastructure funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, which will allow them to undertake cutting-edge research.
McGill's newest Canada Research Chairs: Christian Rocheleau Topic: Using Caenorhabditis elegans genetics to identify and characterize new regulators of the Ras signal transduction pathway
Canada Research Chair Title: Signaling and Development
McGill Unit: Department of Medicine
Christophe Pierre Topic: Next-generation modeling and analysis methodologies for predicting vibration and noise in large-scale, complex structural systems
Canada Research Chair Title: Natural Sciences and Engineering
McGill Unit: Department of Mechanical Engineering
Ernesto Schiffrin Topic: Translational research on the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to vascular remodeling and cardiovascular events in hypertension, metabolic syndrome and diabetes in humans and rodents
Canada Research Chair Title: Vascular and Hypertension Research
McGill Unit: Department of Medicine
Frédéric Mégret Topic: Understanding how the globalization of law both excludes and creates opportunities for inclusion of various minority groups
Canada Research Chair Title: The Law of Human Rights and Legal Pluralism
McGill Unit: Faculty of Law
Hope Weiler Topic: Dietary nutrients and bone health across the lifespan
Canada Research Chair Title: Nutrition, Development, and Aging
McGill Unit: School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition
Lauren Chapman Topic: Ecological and evolutionary consequences of respiratory strategies in fishes and the role of oxygen-scarce waters in the maintenance, loss and recovery of aquatic biodiversity
Canada Research Chair Title: Respiratory Ecology and Aquatic Conservation
McGill Unit: Department of Biology
Nathalie Tufenkji Topic: Fundamental study of biocolloid-surface interactions in aqueous systems
Canada Research Chair Title: Biocolloids and Surfaces in Environmental and Biomedical Sciences
McGill Unit: Department of Chemical Engineering
Ronald Niezen Topic: Indigenous peoples as active participants in international networks and organizations
Canada Research Chair Title: Comparative Study of Indigenous Rights and Identity
McGill Unit: Department of Anthropology
Shan-Lu Liu Topic: The novel mechanisms of oncogenic transformation by sheep retroviruses and their relationship to human lung cancer
Canada Research Chair Title: Virology and Gene Therapy
McGill Unit: Department of Microbiology and Immunology In addition to the new appointments, the announcement included the renewal of one of the original Canada Research Chairs appointed at McGill, Laura Nilson, who holds the Chair in Developmental Genetics.
Source:
Kristine Greenaway
Director
McGill University Relations Office
514-398-7698
| 