MUHC director general and CEO to serve on CIHR governing council
The Board of Directors of the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Health Centre (MUHC) welcomed today the announcement of the appointment of MUHC Director General and CEO Dr. Arthur T. Porter to the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The announcement was made earlier today by the Honourable Tony Clement, the Federal Minister of Health. The Governing Council of the CIHR is the voluntary body overseeing the Government of Canada's health research funding agency. Council appointments represent a renewable three-year term.
"This appointment reflects the tremendous respect that Dr. Arthur Porter has garnered from the medical and scientific communities as well as this country's public administration," stated David Culver, Chairman, MUHC Board of Directors. "Since arriving at the MUHC, he has demonstrated an unfailing commitment to excellence in patient care, research, teaching and technology evaluation. His recent recruitment of Dr. Vassilios Papadopoulos, an internationally recognized scientist and biomedical science administrator from Washington, is proof of his team-building skills."
"I am thrilled to learn that Dr. Porter will serve on the CIHR's Governing Council," stated Dr. Vassilios Papadopoulos, the newly appointed Director of the Research Institute of the MUHC. "I am convinced that the invaluable expertise and world perspective that he will bring to this role will have a positive impact on government-supported translational research across Canada."
Dr. Porter's extensive international health background includes medical practice, business and academic leadership positions in Canada, Europe, Africa and the United States. He has also served as a consultant to the World Health Organization and has worked to establish international medical research and treatment programs in Turkey, India, Yemen, Bahamas, Brazil and throughout Europe.
Since 2004, Dr. Porter has assumed a leading role in helping to shape the redesign of the health care delivery system in Quebec, first in his capacity as MUHC Director General and CEO and second since being appointed President of the Réseau universitaire intégré de santé McGill (RUIS), an integrated health delivery network serving 1.7 million people across 63% of the province, by the Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services, Philippe Couillard.
"As a radiation oncologist and health care administrator, I firmly believe that we must use every means to harness health research so that Canadians and people around the world may enjoy healthier lives," noted Dr. Arthur T. Porter. "The CIHR is a catalyst for innovation and I am proud to serve on its Governing Council."
The CIHR provides important financial support to nearly 10,000 researchers and trainees in universities, teaching hospitals and research institutes across Canada. It also encourages the commercialization of research discoveries to the marketplace. In doing so, it helps foster excellence in medicine and science, thereby making a difference in the quality of life of Canadians. The CIHR reports to Parliament through the Minister of Health. Its Governing Council is chaired by CIHR president Dr. Alan Bernstein and comprises 20 Canadians with diverse backgrounds who have been appointed by Order in Council to renewable three-year terms.
About the MUHC
The MUHC is a comprehensive academic health institution with an international reputation for excellence in clinical programs, research, teaching and technology evaluation. The MUHC is a merger of five teaching hospitals affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ: the Montreal Children's, Montreal General, Royal Victoria, and Montreal Neurological hospitals, and the Montreal Chest Institute. Building on the tradition of medical leadership of the founding hospitals, the goal of the MUHC is to provide patient care based on the most advanced knowledge in the health care field and to contribute to the development of new knowledge. The MUHC is currently undertaking a $1.579-billion Redevelopment Project involving two state-of-the-art, LEED-registered campuses.
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