We are pleased to announce the appointment of Jean-François Cloutier, PhD, as Associate Dean, Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), McGill University, effective January 1, 2026. Prof. Cloutier replaces Sylvain Baillet, PhD, who served as Associate Dean since 2019, before recently moving on to become the Director of the CHUM Research Centre. We’d like to thank Prof. Baillet for his leadership in supporting and advancing core facilities and platforms, as well as the Faculty’s large portfolio of research centres. Prof. Baillet also played an important role in developing the FMHS Strategic Research Plan and its numerous revisions over the past several years, for which we are very grateful. We wish Prof. Baillet success in his new role.
Prof. Cloutier obtained his PhD from the Division of Experimental Medicine at McGill after completing his undergraduate degree in Honours Biochemistry at Concordia University. Following his PhD, he went on to complete post-graduate training at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Department of Neuroscience). He is currently Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill and at The Neuro – Montreal Neurological Hospital-Institute, where he has worked for two decades.
As a member of the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Group at The Neuro, Prof. Cloutier’s research focuses on gaining a better understanding of how neural circuits are formed during development with an emphasis on the cellular and molecular events that modulate neuronal specification, axonal targeting, and synapse formation and function.
Over the course of his career, Prof. Cloutier has been recognized as a Killam Scholar and a Neurasmus Scholar and has been the recipient of Senior Research Fellowships from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), a Tier II Canada Research Chair, and Chercheur-boursier sénior from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé sector. He has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, has been an Associate Editor of The Journal of Neuroscience, and currently serves as Review Editor and Associate Editor for Frontiers in Neural Circuits.
As Chair of the Neuro Animal Care Committee, Prof. Cloutier has led the Neuro’s animal care program for the past nine years, fostering a collaborative and compliant environment for research involving animals. He is also Chair of the Animal Policy and Welfare Oversight Committee at McGill. His expertise in animal care programs was recognized through his election to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Council on Animal Care in 2023.
Prof. Cloutier also has extensive experience in research funding and academic program review processes. He has consistently served on FRQ-S and CIHR review panels, and is currently Chair of the Systems and Clinical Neuroscience CIHR review panel. He has also been a member of the Commission d’évaluation des projets de programmes for the provincial Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire, which assesses proposals for the implementation of new undergraduate and graduate programs in Québec.
In his role as Associate Dean, Research, under the guidance of the Vice-Dean, Research, Prof. Cloutier’s responsibilities will include oversight of research administration in the FMHS, including development and application of research policies. Prof. Cloutier will participate in the implementation of the current strategic research plan and provide oversight of ongoing initiatives. He will conduct an annual review of research centres and core facilities within the FMHS; oversee internal grant review, bridge funding, and major funding competitions; and review international collaboration memoranda of understanding. Prof. Cloutier will also represent the FMHS on various committees organized by the Office of the Vice-President, Research + Innovation at McGill, including the Research Advisory Committee.
Please join us in congratulating Prof. Cloutier on his appointment, and in wishing him every success in his new role.
Lesley Fellows, MDCM, DPhil
Vice-President (Health Affairs)
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Shari R. Baum, PhD
Vice-Dean, Research