Robert D. Sindelar, the Dean of the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has been appointed Vice President, Research & Academic Affairs, at Providence Health Care (PHC), President of Providence Health Care Research Institute (PHCRI), and Associate Dean, Research, in the Faculty of Medicine.
Robert Sindelar. Photo credit: Martin Dee, courtesy of Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Dr. Sindelar will start within these roles on January 7 on a part-time basis while he transitions from his current role as Dean of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and will assume full time responsibilities on March 1.
Since receiving a Ph.D in Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products from the University of Iowa (1980), Dr. Sindelar has amassed a stellar and distinguished career in research, translational knowledge, academic affairs and teaching. He has published numerous research papers and books, and received a number of honors for distinguished achievements in the area of pharmaceutical research and education.
Dr. Sindelar’s expertise lies in medicinal chemistry, computer-aided drug discovery and design, pharmaceutical biotechnology, and creating opportunities to integrate innovation into the health care system. He was previously the Chair and Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Research Professor in the Research Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy.
His research focused on the human immune system and drug design for related diseases. This work resulted in more than $14 million (U.S.) in extramural funding as Principal and Co-PI Investigator, greater than 60 refereed journal articles, six U.S. patents, several foreign patents and over 100 scientific and professional presentations.
Dr. Sindelar is the recipient of several School and University-wide teaching honors. In addition to his leadership role in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Sindelar has taught in the professional undergraduate curriculum in several courses. He currently sits on the Board and Executive of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the International Board of the Asian Conference for Clinical Pharmacy as well as serving on other scientific advisory boards and editorial boards.
In addition, he is a founder of the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD). CDRD is a national not-for-profit drug development and commercialization centre that provides expertise and infrastructure to enable researchers from leading health research institutions to advance promising early-stage drug candidates.