Dr Alan Bernstein

Dr Alan Bernstein has been appointed as the first president of the new Canadian Institutes of Research (CIHR). (see article here). Bernstein has stepped down from his position as director of the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute (SLRI), a position he has held since 1994. The SLRI has appointed senior scientists Dr Tony Pawson and Dr Janet Rossant as interim co-directors until an assessment of the position and an international search can be conducted. An internationally respected researcher and scientific leader, Bernstein has conducted pioneering research in the areas of cancer, hema-topoiesis and gene therapy. He received his PhD in 1972 from the Univ of Toronto and undertook further studies at London's Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories. In 1974 he began his association with the Univ of Toronto and is currently a professor of molecular and medical genetics. As CIHR president, Bernstein will chair the 19-member governing council which sets strategic direction, goals and policies. It has the power to create, maintain and terminate research institutes, and determine their mandates. The first task of the governing council will be to choose an initial slate of institutes and appoint their scientific directors and advisory boards....