NYU star named McGill Dean of Medicine
Richard I. Levin brings additional heft to brain-gain success story at McGill
Heather Munroe-Blum, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University, is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Richard I. Levin as Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Currently the Vice-Dean for Education, Faculty and Academic Affairs at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, Dr. Levin will take on his new position at McGill on September 1, 2006.
In making the announcement, Prof. Munroe-Blum noted her excitement that Dr. Levin, an accomplished scientist and academic leader in medicine, will serve as the Faculty of Medicine's 26th dean since 1829. She said that Dr. Levin's mandate is to lead the Faculty to the highest tier of excellence in medical education, research in health sciences, clinical services to patients, and in designing stronger relationships with the community, including the private sector.
"Dr. Levin has outstanding credentials and leadership skills," said Principal Munroe-Blum. "He also brings a deep understanding and passion for the unique role of education and research in advancing our society and mankind, which is an essential quality for the position."
That view was echoed by senior members of Canada's medical establishment. "The recruitment of Dr. Levin is a coup, not just for McGill, but for Canada," said Dr. Alan Bernstein, President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Dr. Levin said he welcomes the challenge because McGill is Canada's leading medical research university, known internationally for its strength in medical and biomedical sciences, and because Quebec and Canada have unique strengths that position the country to be a world leader in medical advances and discovery for the future.
"McGill is one of the world's great public research universities. It is also a leader in human genomics and proteomics, and, just as the 20th century was the century of physics, the 21st century will be the century of biological breakthrough," he said.
"McGill is in a unique position to lead in medical education and research. It already has a series of collaborations in place, including through organizations like Genome Canada and Génome Québec, that position it to build this rich fabric of medical sciences. In this respect, the future is exhilarating."
In his current role, Dr. Levin is responsible for NYU's distinguished clinical programs and all its educational programs, from the Salk School, a magnet school run jointly with the Board of Education of the City of New York, to its continuing medical education programs.
Dr. Levin, who has practiced and taught medicine for 25 years on the front lines at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York, the oldest public hospital in the United States, says he is also drawn by Canada's health care system.
"I'm a strong believer that quality health care should be available to all," he said. "Canada has, more successfully than most nations in the world, established a truly universal system from which other countries can learn. That is a real accomplishment."
As part of its ambitious recruitment program since 2000, McGill has recruited some of the very best minds and scholars from other elite institutions around the world. More than 600 new professors have been recruited to McGill since 2000, including 335 from institutions outside the country.
Dr. Levin has been a full professor of medicine at NYU since 1996. Among other positions, Dr. Levin has served as the Director of Training Programs in Cardiovascular Disease at NYU and has also been the recipient of numerous distinguished awards and honours throughout his career.
Dr. Levin's scientific interests include endothelial cell biology, the prevention of atherothrombotic events, and the role of the new information technologies in medical education. In addition to numerous peer awards and distinctions, he has been awarded four patents relating to his work developing a device and system for coronary health intervention, and for studies on the promotion of wound healing.
A proven innovator, Dr. Levin invented a medical device for the detection and analysis of ambulatory myocardial ischemia, then co-founded the company QMED around that technology. QMED is now a publicly traded disease management and wellness company.
Dr. Levin received his BS in Biology from Yale University in 1970, his MD from NYU School of Medicine in 1974, and did a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cornell University Medical College from 1979 to 1983.
