The University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Brian MacVicar and Dr. Jon Stoessl as Co-Directors of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. They will serve alongside Dr. Max Cynader until June 30, 2014, when Dr. Cynader will leave his position as Director of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH) and the Brain Research Centre.
Dr. MacVicar and Dr. Stoessl will put into practice Dr. Cynader’s vision of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health as a place that will improve patient care, spearhead new treatments and advance health research.
Dr. Brian MacVicar, a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, is one of the world’s pioneers in describing the activity of brain cells – not just neurons, but glial cells, thus contributing to a new appreciation for their essential roles in brain maintenance, protection and repair. Dr. MacVicar is the Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Science and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is also the Head of Basic Neuroscience in the Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Jon Stoessl, a Professor and Head of the Division of Neurology and Director of the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre, is an internationally recognized Parkinson’s researcher and clinician. He uses positron emission tomography to study Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, the basis for complications arising from Parkinson’s treatment, and the mechanisms of the placebo effect. Dr. Stoessl is the Canada Research Chair in Parkinson’s disease and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Science.
Dr. MacVicar and Dr. Stoessl are working with Dr. Cynader and a transitional leadership team during the coming months.
