TORONTO, May 31, 2011 – York University is pleased to announce that Robert Haché will assume the role of vice-president, research & innovation for a five-year term, effective July 1, 2011.

“I am thrilled that Dr. Haché is coming to York University,” said York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. “Dr. Haché's ideas, experience and skills will enable us to continue to enhance our increasingly strong research profile, and expand into one of Canada’s leading interdisciplinary research and teaching universities.”

Haché is currently the associate vice-president research at the University of Calgary, where he has played a key role in advancing strategic research priorities. In addition, Haché held appointments in the university’s Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy in the Faculty of Medicine, and in the Department of Biological Sciences in the Faculty of Science, where he maintained an active research program. Previously, he spent 18 years at the University of Ottawa, the last 12 in a series of research leadership positions that ended with a term as vice- dean, research for the Faculty of Medicine.

“I am delighted to be coming to York at what is sure to be a promising time in its history,” said Haché. “I look forward to working with faculty and researchers to further the development of its rapidly growing and internationally-recognized research enterprise.”

A molecular and cellular biologist and biochemist, Haché has made important contributions to the understanding of how steroid hormone signaling takes place in cells and how cells respond to DNA damaging agents. He has chaired and been a member of a number of boards and advisory committees associated with research development and research management. Haché received his BSc in biochemistry from McGill University and his PhD in biochemistry from Queen's University.

Haché has been the recipient of many research grants and awards, including from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Heart & Stroke Foundation, National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC), The Cancer Research Society Inc., The Arthritis Society and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). He is the author of more than 130 scientific articles and abstracts and has delivered many distinguished invited presentations on various aspects of his research.

Shoukri thanked Stan Shapson, York’s outgoing vice-president, research & innovation, for his dedication and service to the university.

“I would like to thank Stan Shapson for his outstanding leadership and friendship,” Shoukri said. “During his time at York, Stan was instrumental in advancing York’s research and innovation mandate, as well as raising the university’s profile externally. Among his many contributions, Stan helped to oversee the launch of the Markham Convergence Centre, an important research initiative in the provincial government’s ONE Network.”

Added Shoukri: “I am grateful to Stan for all that he has achieved over the years at York, and wish him well in all of his future endeavours.”

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 Faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

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Media contact:

Wallace Pidgeon, Associate Director, Media Relations
416-736-2100 ext 22091
wpidgeon@yorku.ca