We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Alba Guarné to the position of Associate Dean, Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University.
In this new role, Dr. Guarné reports directly to the Vice-Principal (Health Affairs)/Dean of Medicine, and is the overall academic leader for units that comprise the future School of Biomedical Sciences. These are: the Departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Human Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and Physiology, as well as the McGill Genome Centre and the Goodman Cancer Research Centre.
Dr. Guarné was educated at the University of Barcelona where she obtained her BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Biochemistry. After completing these in 1999, she followed up with a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States. Dr. Guarné came to Canada in 2003, becoming a faculty member of McMaster University. In 2017, she joined McGill’s Faculty of Medicine as a Professor of Biochemistry. She became an Associate Member of the Goodman Cancer Research Centre and Associate Director of the McGill Centre for Structural Biology in 2018.
Dr. Guarné’s research focuses on deciphering the molecular mechanisms that preserve DNA integrity. She holds grants from several funding agencies, including the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the NIH, the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) and Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie (MRIF)’s Coopération bilatérale Québec-Catalogne.
Dr. Guarné has been the recipient of a number of awards, including a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Macromolecular Machines in DNA repair, the YWCA’s Women of Distinction Award (Science, Technology or Trades) and McMaster University’s President’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision. She has published dozens of research papers in peer-reviewed journals, written two book chapters and presented at numerous conferences. A passionate educator, her trainees have gone on to award-winning careers.
As Associate Dean, Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Guarné will be accountable for the oversight of all activities in the biomedical science departments including undergraduate and graduate education, research planning, resource allocation and recruitment. Working in close collaboration with department chairs, she will develop the mission and vision for the School of Biomedical Sciences, as well as its internal governance structures, and define and implement a strategic plan.
In addition, Dr. Guarné will work closely with the Associate Dean, Biomedical BSc, Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, and the Assistant Dean, Biomedical Sciences Education, to promote excellence in the learning environment for graduate and undergraduate students. She will also collaborate with the Scientific Directors of the hospital-based research centres to promote translational research and collaboration.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Guarné to this position and in wishing her the very best in helping to advance the excellence of the Faculty’s biomedical sciences.
| Dr. David Eidelman Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) Dean of the Faculty of Medicine | Dr. Lesley Fellows Vice-Dean, Academic Affairs |
March 26, 2020