OTTAWA, February 16, 2004—Dr. John Evans, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Eliot A. Phillipson as the 3rd President and CEO of the CFI (see attached biography). He succeeds the CFI's current President, Dr. David Strangway, who announced last August that he would be stepping down on March 31, 2004. “Dr. Phillipson is eminently qualified to lead the CFI,” said Dr. Evans. “His vast experience as a world-class researcher, his integrity, and his expertise as a highly respected administrator make him the ideal choice.”

The Board made the appointment following an extensive search and was assisted by an independent consulting firm. Dr. Phillipson, who currently serves as Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, will begin his new responsibilities at the CFI as of July 1, 2004. The CFI’s Senior Vice-President, Carmen Charette, will serve as Acting President during the interim period.

As President and CEO, Dr. Phillipson will be responsible for managing a $3.65 billion budget and will work to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and other non-profit research organizations to carry out world-class research and technology development.

“Dr. Phillipson is an outstanding researcher and leader who is committed to shaping the future of science in Canada,” said Dr. Alan Bernstein, President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and a CFI Board Director. “His appointment ensures that the CFI will continue to support research in areas of strategic importance to Canada.”

“The CFI plays a central role in advancing the research and development agenda in our country,” said Dr. Carl Amrhein, Vice-President, Academic and Provost at the University of Alberta. “I strongly believe that this country’s research community will be well served by this dynamic new leader.”

The CFI’s Chair also thanked Dr. Strangway for his six years of service as President and CEO. “David is widely recognized for his leadership, his commitment to excellence, and his contributions to Canadian innovation,” said Dr. Evans. “All of us who had the good fortune to work with him are thankful for his role in helping transform the research landscape in this country.”

The CFI is an independent corporation created in 1997 by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. The CFI’s mandate is to strengthen the ability of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and other non-profit institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that will benefit Canadians.

For more information:

Douglas Lauriault 
Director, Public Affairs 
Canada Foundation for Innovation 
(613) 996-3193

Biography

Dr. Eliot A. Phillipson

Eliot Phillipson received his M.D., with Distinction, in 1963, and his Master of Science (Medicine) in 1965, both from the University of Alberta. Following postgraduate training in Internal Medicine, he undertook research training at the Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California San Francisco. In 1971 he was recruited back to Canada, to the University of Toronto as a clinician-scientist, with a research focus in the regulation of respiration. From 1987 to 1997 Dr. Phillipson served as Physician-in-Chief at Mount Sinai Hospital. In 1993 he was appointed Sir John and Lady Eaton Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine, a position he will hold until June 2004.

The Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto constitutes the largest academic department of any university in Canada, with over 400 full-time faculty and over 300 part-time faculty. During Dr. Phillipson’s tenure as Chair, research funding of the Department doubled from $30 million to over $60 million annually, with over 50 members of the Department holding external career support awards. The Department recently underwent a formal external review that has placed it among the leading Departments of Medicine in North America.

Throughout his career, Dr. Phillipson has received numerous honours and awards. Notably, he is an elected member of the prestigious American Society for Clinical Investigation (1979) and the Association of American Physicians (1991), and Past President of the Canadian Association of Professors of Medicine (1997-1998) and the Canadian Institute of Academic Medicine (2000-2002). Later this year he will receive the President’s Award of the European Respiratory Society. He has been a continuous recipient of Medical Research Council/Canadian Institutes of Health Research funding support since 1971. Dr. Phillipson’s research has allowed the development of a conceptual framework of the physiological mechanisms involved in the regulation of respiration during sleep, and forms the basis for understanding several sleep-related breathing disorders.

Eliot Phillipson will begin his new responsibilities at the Canada Foundation for Innovation as of July 1, 2004.