Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions announces CEO
(Edmonton, Alberta) Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions Chairman Robert A. Seidel, Q.C. announced today that Dr. Jacques Magnan was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the corporation effective April 1, 2010.
Dr. Magnan is the first CEO of Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions, which is funded by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Endowment Fund. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Magnan served as Interim President and CEO of AHFMR since September 2007.
"The Board of Directors is very pleased that Dr. Magnan agreed to take the helm of the corporation," said Mr. Seidel. "He has been an exemplary leader at a time of immense change as AHFMR made the transition into Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions. As we undertake the complex process of determining our directions and strategies, Jacques' knowledge, experience, insights and vision are critical factors for our success as an organization and as a catalyst for producing outstanding research and innovations in Alberta."
The CEO advises and reports to the seven-person Board of Directors, chaired by Mr. Seidel. As the corporation's CEO, Dr. Magnan develops and implements operations to support the strategic direction and plans of the corporation. He also liaises and leads in partnership development with the Government of Alberta, the Alberta Innovates system, and the provincial, national, and international research community to ensure the corporation's support of top-ranked health research and innovation.
"Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions adheres to the highest levels of excellence in its operations and in its programming," said Mr. Seidel. "The Board of Directors is assured that with Dr. Magnan's appointment, we will uphold internationally competitive standards of achievement as we focus on strategies that meet our mandate from the Government of Alberta."
Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions was launched January 1, 2010 as part of the new Alberta Innovates research and innovation system. Through Alberta Innovates, the Alberta government is making it easier for researchers, innovators and investors to work together to create new opportunities, new solutions and new sectors that will drive the province's next generation economy. For more information on Alberta Innovates visit www.albertainnovates.ca.
For more information or to interview Dr. Magnan by telephone, please call Kathleen Thurber at 780.423.5727.
Background
Dr. Jacques Magnan was born and raised in Québec. He received his Bachelor of Sciences in Chemistry and a PhD in Pharmacology from the Université de Sherbrooke. After completing post-doctoral fellowships in Aberdeen (Scotland), Toronto and Montréal, he joined the staff of the Department of Pharmacology at the Université de Montréal. His research interests were in the area of the pharmacology of peptides, notably the different groups of opioids in the Central Nervous System.
Dr. Magnan became a Scientific Officer for the Medical Research Council of Canada in Ottawa in 1990. His main area of responsibility was the organization of the peer-review process for the Groups and Program grants. In 1994, he came to Alberta to join the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, initially as Director of Grants and Awards, then as Vice President, Programs, and since 2007, as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer.
Dr. Magnan has served in an advisory capacity with several provincial and national health research funding agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Michael Smith Health Research Foundation in British Columbia, the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec, and the Alberta Government's Department of Innovation and Science. He also co-chairs the National Alliance of Provincial Health Research Organizations (NAPHRO), serves on the board of the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research (ACCFCR), and the Institute of Health Economics.