Interim Dean Announced for the Faculty of Medicine

As per an official announcement by the President of the University of Ottawa earlier this morning, Dr. Bernard Jasmin, Vice-Dean, Research, will become Interim Dean of the Faculty of Medicine as of July 1, 2017, when current Dean Jacques Bradwejn ends his second term. We thank Dr. Bradwejn for his eleven years of service and leadership, and for all the success he has brought to the Faculty.

Dr. Jasmin has assumed the role of Vice-Dean, Research, in the Faculty of Medicine since 2009. He was initially recruited to the University of Ottawa as an Assistant Professor in 1992 by the Department of Physiology. He quickly moved through the ranks and was promoted to Full Professor in 2000. In 1999, he co-founded the University of Ottawa Centre for Neuromuscular Disease and acted as one of its co-Directors until 2002. From 2002-2009, Dr. Jasmin was Chair of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (CMM). Earlier this year, Dr. Jasmin was also named Vice-President, Research, at the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC).

In his leadership roles, Dr. Jasmin has consistently worked closely with all stakeholders from the University, Faculty, affiliated hospitals and research institutes, to either lead or assist in the development of a number of flagship programs and initiatives that have had a clear positive impact on the educational and research missions of the Faculty of Medicine. In particular, Dr. Jasmin has been instrumental in the marked increase in research intensity seen in the Faculty of Medicine, while playing key roles in the establishment of several broad-based strategic initiatives including the Brain and Mind Research Institute, the Centre for Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, and the design and implementation of a joint recruitment plan for professors/scientists with clinical departments and affiliated research institutes. Dr. Jasmin greatly facilitated the accreditation for the following graduate programs:  Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Epidemiology, Microbiology and Immunology, and Neuroscience, with all programs receiving high rankings.  In addition, Dr. Jasmin strongly supported the development and creation of the Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy, the Department of Innovation in Medical Education (DIME), and the MD/PhD Program.

While assuming various leadership roles, Dr. Jasmin has maintained an internationally recognized research program that focuses on defining signaling pathways and regulatory events that control expression of synaptic proteins in neurons and skeletal muscle cells. In his work, the emphasis is placed on studying fundamental questions that are relevant for our understanding of the physiopathology of various neuromuscular diseases and developing novel therapeutics for these diseases. Over the course of his career, Dr. Jasmin has published more than 125 scientific articles and book chapters, mostly as senior investigator. The excellence of his work has not only been recognized by several awards, including CIHR New Investigator, CIHR Investigator, and CIHR/IMHA Quality of Life Award but, in addition, by invitations to present at prestigious meetings and institutions around the world.

Dr. Jasmin thus brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of the educational programs, research components, and of the administration and operation of the Faculty of Medicine and of the University of Ottawa. We are delighted to welcome him to the role of Interim Dean and congratulate him on his appointment.

Main photo: L-R: Professor Frédéric Fleury, president of Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and vice-president of the Université de Lyon; Professor Laurent Schaeffer of the Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1; Kareen Rispal, French ambassador to Canada; Dr. Bernard Jasmin, Interim Dean at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine; and University of Ottawa President Jacques Frémont, following the launch of a joint international neuromuscular research partnership.