We are pleased to announce the renewal of Dr. Jean-Pierre Farmer’s mandate as Chair of the Department of Pediatric Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, effective November 1. Dr. Farmer has led the department with distinction since 2012, responding to a growing need for more specialized training and care in the field and overseeing all academic activities at the Faculty’s affiliated pediatric sites.
An active member of the McGill community for four decades, Dr. Farmer pursued his undergraduate degree and medical training here and is a full professor in three Faculty departments, as well as a clinician at several of McGill’s affiliated hospitals. With a record of excellence in pediatric neurosurgery, Dr. Farmer has served as the Chief of Pediatric Surgery at the McGill University Health Centre since 2007. He is also the current and inaugural holder of the Dorothy Williams Chair in Pediatric Surgery.
Dr. Farmer was a University Scholar during his studies and received the Penfield-McNaughton Award in Neurosurgery from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital following residency training. After completing a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at New York University Medical Center in 1990, he became an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery and began practicing neurosurgery at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the Shriners Hospital for Children. In 2002, he became a full professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery and the Department of Oncology, followed by full professor status in the Department of Surgery four years later.
Dr. Farmer’s influence in the academic, clinical and research arenas is widely known, both nationally and internationally. His reputation as a scientific investigator precedes him in the areas of pre-natal diagnostics, congenital malformations, hydrocephalus, cranial and spinal tumours, spasticity, epilepsy surgery, neuro-traumatology and cranio-facial syndromes. In 2010, after leading a group of pioneers from the conception to the operation of the first intraoperative MRI system for children in Canada, he received the Pfizer Leadership Award from the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation. This year, he is the recipient of the 2016 Prix d’excellence of the Collège des Médecins du Québec.
Dr. Farmer has also held several management positions in the McGill community, including Neurosurgery Program Director at McGill from 1999 to 2003 and Associate Dean of Post-graduate Medical Education and Professional Affairs from 2004 to 2007. Internationally, he was a Director of the American Board of Pediatric Neurosurgery from 2002 to 2012.
During his inaugural departmental Chair mandate, Dr. Farmer led the recruitment of 17 new pediatric surgeons or researchers, and the promotion of 9 surgeons. Philanthropically, he was intimately involved in the elaboration of the Tony Dobell, Wendy MacDonald and Hugh Hallward Chairs and in the appointment of the inaugural chairholder for the Francis Glorieux Chair.
As Chair of McGill’s Department of Pediatric Surgery, Dr. Farmer will continue to lead the strategic planning and education and research missions, while mentoring faculty members. He will make further recommendations to the Dean regarding recruitment, academic appointments, promotion and tenure and advise him on all other academic matters, as well as oversee the allocation of the departmental budget. He will also represent the department as a member of the Faculty Leadership Commons and at the Clinical Chairs meetings.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Jean-Pierre Farmer on this renewal and in wishing him ongoing success.
| Dr. David Eidelman Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) Dean of the Faculty of Medicine | Dr. Mara Ludwig Vice-Dean, Academic Affairs |
November 1, 2016