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null Marcel Behr appointed interim director McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity

Founding director Don Sheppard to direct Antimicrobial Resistance Task Force at the Public Health Agency of Canada

Dr. Marcel Behr is an associate leader of the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program at the Research Institute of the MUHC
Dr. Marcel Behr is an associate leader of the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program at the Research Institute of the MUHC

Dr. Marcel Behr was appointed interim director of the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, in November 2021. The co-director (Infection) of MI4 prior to this appointment, he will continue to work with Dr. Marie Hudson, also a co-director (Immunity) since 2019.

An accomplished clinician-scientist, Dr. Behr is the associate program leader of the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health (IDIGH) Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), founding director of the McGill International TB Centre and interim director of the Infectious Diseases Division at McGill. His research uses genomic methodologies to study the epidemiology and pathogenesis of tuberculosis.

Dr. Don Sheppard is a senior scientist in the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program at the Research Institute of the MUHC
Dr. Don Sheppard is a senior scientist in the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program at the Research Institute of the MUHC

Dr. Behr replaces Dr. Don Sheppard, founding director of MI4, who has been seconded to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to serve as executive scientific director for the newly created Antimicrobial Resistance Task Force. During the three-year secondment that began in November 2021, Dr. Sheppard is continuing his research program at the RI-MUHC and remains a McGill professor and active member of the MI4 community.

Building on successful programs

Under Dr. Sheppard, MI4 helped lead the rapid and strategic response of McGill investigators and clinicians in pivoting the university’s research capacity to address the global threat of COVID-19. As Interim Director of MI4, Dr. Behr will build on the successful programs in place and continue to promote the excellence of infection and immunity research. He will lead MI4’s strategic priorities, which include increasing its international reach through additional partnerships and global collaborations and attracting new scientific talent.

The many RI-MUHC researchers who share the work of MI4 are grateful to Dr. Sheppard for his leadership and outstanding contributions to that initiative and wish both him, and Dr. Behr, success in their new roles.

Read more about Dr. Behr’s appointment and MI4 on the McGill website.

January 24, 2022