Prof. Mark Lathrop re-appointed Scientific Director, McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre

It is with pleasure that we announce the re-appointment of Mark Lathrop, PhD, to the position of Scientific Director, McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre, a position he has held since 2011, during which time he has helped strengthen our position as a hub for genomic research in Quebec and a leader nationally and internationally.

A native of British Columbia, Professor Lathrop completed his Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees at the University of Alberta before obtaining his PhD from the University of Washington (Seattle) in Biomathematics. He then moved to France, where he was one of the founders of the Centre d’Étude du Polymorphisme Humain, which pioneered international collaboration on the human genome in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, Dr. Lathrop moved to the University of Oxford, where he was a Wellcome Trust Principal Fellow and Professor of Human Genetics, during which time he co-founded and was first Scientific Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, an institute created to apply genomic approaches to understanding the molecular basis of human disease. In 1997, he was asked by the French government to form the Centre National de Genotypage outside of Paris in Evry, which he directed until 2012.

Professor in the Department of Human Genetics at McGill, Professor Lathrop’s current research is focused on the use of the human genome sequence, and other information about the human genome, to understand the molecular basis of disease, and how these can be applied to individualize approaches to disease prevention and treatment. His work has been recognized with many honours throughout his career, including the French Order of Merit and the French Legion of Honour.

Professor Lathrop has served as a scientific advisor to many public and private initiatives in genomics and related activities, including the UK Biobank, Génoplante, Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, the German NGFN, German Helmholtz Foundation, and Genome Canada. He previously chaired the Scientific Advisory Committee for Life Sciences, Genomics and Biotechnology for Health and was also Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Riken Center for Genomic Medicine in Yokohama from 2002-2012.

As Scientific Director, McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre, Professor Lathrop is expected to continue to develop and excel in his own research, while leading the Centre in its research mission, in its strategic planning and in its budget allocation. He will make recommendations to the Dean on recruitment, provide mentorship to the Centre’s members, serve as advisory to the Dean on academic matters pertaining to the Centre and participate in the Faculty Leadership Commons.

Please join us in congratulating Professor Lathrop on his first term and in wishing him continued success in his role as Scientific Director, McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre.

November 28, 2016