Michel Perron has been appointed VP external affairs and business development at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), replacing Dr Robert Thirsk who retired in February. Perron comes to CIHR from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse where he has served as CEO since 1999. He will be responsible for all matters relating to political and strategic relations, partnerships, communications and public mobilization. Perron will have input into defining and managing the organization's strategic direction as a member of its science council, which is chaired by Dr Alain Beaudet and comprised of 13 scientific directors, an executive management team and the director of science, knowledge translation and ethics....