Dr Mona Nemer

Dr Mona Nemer has been appointed VP research at the Univ of Ottawa, replacing Dr Howard Alper who is stepping down after nine years. Nemer comes to the U of O from the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr‚al (IRCM), a 30-year-old, non-profit institute aligned with McGill Univ and the Univ of Montreal and housing more than 30 specialized research labs. When she takes up the position September 1, Nemer will play a key role in implementing the university's new strategic plan which aims to move the institution into the top five Canadian research universities. Nemer holds a PhD in bio-organic chemistry from McGill Univ. She is currently a professor of pharmacology at the Univ of Montreal and an adjunct professor of medicine at McGill. In addition, Nemer holds a Tier I Canada Research Chair in cardiovascular cell differentiation and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She has been affiliated with IRCM since 1992 and held several positions including director of cardiac development research and director of academic affairs. She joined the management committee in 1997 and became executive director in 2002. Alper is on administrative leave from the U of O and has accepted a position as visiting executive at the International Development Research Centre (see story page 6)....