From philosophy to pharmacy, medical imaging to microbiology, eight new Canada Research Chairs --half from outside Canada -- will add to the breadth of research expertise at the University of Toronto. The new chairs were announced July 19 by Maxime Bernier, minister of industry and minister responsible for the Canada Research Chairs program.
The new Tier I chairs ($200,000 annually for seven years) are: Harald Bathelt, who comes from the University of Marburg, Germany, to U of T’s Department of Political Science; Michael Lambek of the Department of Social Sciences at U of T Scarborough, Conrad Liles, who comes from the University of Washington to the Division of Infectious Disease at the Faculty of Medicine and University Health Network; and Mohan Matthen, coming from the University of British Columbia to the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto at Mississauga.
The new Tier II chairs ($100,000 annually for five years) are: Guri Giaever who comes from Stanford University to the Faculty of Medicine and the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy; Anne-Claude Gingras who comes from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Wash., to the Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology and Mount Sinai Hospital; Andrea Kassner of the Department of Medical Imaging; and Berge Minassian of the Department of Pediatrics and the Hospital for Sick Children.
The following Tier II chairs are being renewed: Daniel Durocher (medical genetics and microbiology); Hae-Young Kee (physics);Yong Baek Kim (physics); and Rachel Tyndale (pharmacology).
"The continuing investment in the Canada Research Chairs program is vitally important," said Bernier. "Research performed by chair holders lets us better understand and respond to issues affecting our communities, our cities, our country and our world
With these new appointments, 223 of the 267 chairs allocated by the federal government to U of T have been filled.
“Every time new Canada Research Chairs are appointed, U of T becomes an even stronger centre of research and teaching,” said Professor John Challis, vice-president (research) and associate provost. “These chairs, coming from around the world, across Canada and within the university and its teaching hospitals, join more than 200 other Canada Research Chairs at U of T to advance knowledge in their areas of study, as well as teach and supervise the next generation of researchers.”