CCUBC Executive
The Canadian Council of University Biology Chairs is comprised of the Chairs, or Heads of Biology Departments from most universities in Canada. Chairs play a key role in the leadership of Biology Departments and the improvement of Biology research and teaching in Canada. We strive to provide a forum for exchange of information between Chairs for improving Biology teaching and research in Canada.
CCUBC Executive 2024 - 2025
Dr. Shawn Mansfield, FRSC
President
Dr. Shawn Mansfield is a Professor and Canada Research Chair (term expired) in Wood in the Department of Wood Science, and current Head of Botany (since 2022) at The University of British Columbia. He received his BSc (Honours) from Mount Allison University, MSc from Dalhousie University (1994) and PhD from University of British Columbia (1997). He then did a PDF at the Forest Research (New Zealand) from 1998-2000 and concurrently held a visiting scholar position at the University of Waikato, and returned to UBC as a faculty member in 2000. Mansfield’s long-term research program focuses on the molecular, functional biochemical and ultrastructural characterization of plant cell wall biosynthesis, with an emphasis on cellulose and lignin. His research employs a unique combination of genomics, molecular biology, functional genomics, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and plant cell wall characterization techniques to elucidate the influence of various biosynthetic pathways on the growth and development of secondary xylem formation in plants.
University of British Columbia
Department of Botany
3156-6270 University Blvd
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
Email: shawn.mansfield@ubc.ca
Dr. Christian Lacroix
Treasurer
Dr. Christian Lacroix (he/him) is a Professor and Chair of Biology at the University of Prince Edward Island. He is a developmental plant morphologist. His research highlights relationships between morphologically different structures that share similar developmental pathways. His current research interests include leaf complexity in angiosperms, developmental aspects of floral organ identity, and the biology of the endangered Gulf of St. Lawrence Aster. Christian completed his PhD at the University of Guelph and has been at the University of Prince Edward Island since 1990. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Science Publishing journal Botany from 2011-2023 and is now Consulting Editor for the same journal.
Department of Biology
University of Prince Edward Island
550 University Avenue
Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3
Email: lacroix@upei.ca
Dr. Kirsten Müller
Past President
Dr. Kirsten Müller Dr. Kirsten Müller (she/her) is a Professor and Chair of Biology at the University of Waterloo. Her research focuses on the ecology, biogeography and evolution of the red algal order, Bangiales. In addition, she studies the impact of climate exacerbated disturbances in forested watersheds and the resulting algal blooms that occur after such a disturbance. Kirsten completed her PhD at the University of Guelph and has been at the University of Waterloo since 2000. More recently, she has become the managing editor for the Journal of Phycology.
Professor and Chair
University of Waterloo
Faculty of Science, Department of Biology,
200 University Ave,
Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1
Email: kmmuller@uwaterloo.ca
Dr. W. Gary Anderson
Vice President
Dr. W. Gary Anderson graduated with a BSc and PhD from the University of St. Andrews in 1995. After a period as an environmental consultant and a post-doctoral fellow he joined the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Manitoba as an Assistant Professor in 2004 and began life as the Department Head in April of 2022. He teaches at the graduate and undergraduate level and maintains an active research lab in comparative physiology/endocrinology working on Lake Sturgeon in Manitoba and elasmobranchs at the Bamfield Marine Sciences centre in British Columbia.
University of Manitoba
Department of Biological Sciences
50 Sifton Road
Winnipeg, MB R3T2N2
Email: gary.anderson@umanitoba.ca
Dr. Diana Hamilton
Member At Large
Dr. Diana Hamilton is a Professor and Head of the Biology Department at Mount Allison University. She completed her M.Sc. at Western University and her PhD at the University of Guelph. Diana is a field ecologist with particular interest in interactions between birds and intertidal communities. Her research focuses on stopover ecology of migrating shorebirds, community-level interactions among intertidal invertebrates, and top-down and bottom-up effects in marine systems. She teaches courses related to ecology and statistics and experimental design. Undergraduates and graduate students are integral to her research program.
Mount Allison University
Department of Biology
Sackville, New Brunswick
Canada E4L 1E4
Email: dhamilto@mta.ca
Dr. Jeffrey Richards
Member At Large
Jeff (he/him) is the Head of the Department of Zoology at The University of British Columbia. His research program aims to understand the biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying the adaptation of animals to new or challenging environmental conditions. In particular, he studies the mechanisms and evolution of low oxygen and freshwater tolerance among fishes. He also applies his understanding of how fish respond to environmental challenges to help improve the sustainability of recreational fisheries management and marine net-pen farming.
Department of Zoology
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
Email: jeffrey@zoology.ubc.ca
Dr. Gregor Fussmann
Member At Large
- 1996 PhD, Max Planck Institute for Limnology
- 1997 Postdoc, Visiting Assistant Professor, Cornell University
- 2001 Assistant Professor, University of Potsdam, Germany
- 2004 Associate Professor, McGill University
- 2016 Professor, McGill University
Community ecology, Evolutionary ecology, Aquatic ecology
McGill University
Department of Biology
Stewart Biology Building
1205 Docteur Penfield
Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1B1
Email: gregor.fussmann@mcgill.ca
Dr. Matthew Smith
Member at Large
Dr. Matt Smith is Professor and Chair in the Department of Biology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, ON. His primary research area is intracellular protein trafficking, and uses protein targeting to chloroplasts as a model system. Other projects include structure-function studies of mitochondrial uncoupling proteins. Before arriving at Laurier in 2004 he completed a PhD in Biology at the University of Waterloo, and did a postdoc at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has been Chair of Biology since 2018, and prior to that was an Associate Dean in the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for several years.
Wilfrid Laurier University
Department of Biology
75 University Ave W
Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5
Email: msmith@wlu.ca
Mrs. Wafaa H. Antonious
Secretariat
Rofail Conference and Management Services (RCMS)
17 Dossetter Way
Ottawa, ON K1G 4S3
Tel: 613-421-7229
Email: Info@CCUBC.ca