The University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine is pleased to announce that Robert McMaster, an Associate Dean, Research has been appointed the Interim Executive Associate Dean, Research for the Faculty of Medicine, effective March 15, 2016.
Dr. McMaster brings considerable administrative experience and intellectual vigor to the role and is particularly well-positioned to foster scientific collaborations between the Faculty and its health authority partners, as he is currently the Vice President Research for Vancouver Coastal Health and the Executive Director of the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI).
As the Interim Executive Associate Dean, Research, Dr. McMaster will lead the development of a health and life sciences research strategy and ensure the research is translational and of the highest caliber. He will provide guidance to health research program leaders and ensure resources are supported effectively across the Faculty on all campuses and health authorities. He will also play a key role in formulating the research component of the Faculty’s new strategic plan, and will ensure that the Faculty’s activities align with the plan’s priorities.
Dr. McMaster received a Bachelor and Master of Science from UBC, followed by a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. A Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics, he has focused his research on molecular immunology, parasitology and transplant immunology. He previously served as Head of the Department of Medical Genetics from 2000 to 2010 and was also Director of the Immunity and Infection Research Centre of VCHRI and Director of Transplant Immunology for B.C. Transplant.
Dr. McMaster is actively involved with national and international granting agencies including the World Health Organization, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (where he serves as the Scientific Officer for the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Peer Review Grant Committee) and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. He was Chair of the BC Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (BCCRIN) and was recently appointed the Vice Chair of the Board for Research Canada. Dr. McMaster is also a member of the BC Health Research Council, the National Steering Committee for the CIHR Strategies on Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) as well as a member of the Board of Directors for the Transplant Research Foundation of BC.
We would like to thank Dr. Howard Feldman, the outgoing Executive Associate Dean, Research, for his exemplary service, his administrative acumen, and his visionary leadership of the Faculty’s research portfolio over the past four years. Please join me in wishing him success in his new role at the University of California, San Diego, where he will be Dean of Alzheimer’s and Related Neurodegenerative Research and Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study.