Dr. Stefano Stifani has been appointed as Associate Director (Fundamental Research) of the Azrieli Centre for Autism Research (ACAR), which was established at The Neuro in 2017. By integrating research, training and care, ACAR seeks to advance knowledge, engage in clinical collaborations and respond effectively to the needs of people with autism and their families.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to join such an exciting program as ACAR, which brings fundamental and clinical research together with gold-standard clinical care for patients with autism,” says Dr. Stifani.
In his new capacity, Dr. Stifani will ensure the success and implementation of ACAR’s scientific recruitment, international collaborations and research platforms; enhance ACAR’s national and international visibility through funding programs, partnerships and other initiatives; and ensure ACAR’s strategic alignment with other autism-related initiatives in Canada and internationally. Dr. Stifani will start in this new position on Sept. 1. He will also continue in his role as The Neuro’s Associate Director (Research).
Dr. Stifani is a James McGill Professor in McGill’s Departments of Neurology & Neurosurgery and Anatomy & Cell Biology, and also currently serves as Chair of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Developmental Biology Committee, as Secretary-General of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience (ISDN) and as Editor-in-Chief of ISDN’s official publication, International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience.
Dr. Stifani has played key roles in developing international collaborations in neuroscience between McGill and world-renowned universities including Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and University of Edinburgh.
Dr. Stifani obtained a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Rome, Italy. His current research explores the use of human-induced pluripotent stem cells in developing disease-relevant experimental models for studying neurological diseases and disorders.
Azrieli Centre for Autism Research (ACAR)
The Neuro’s Azrieli Centre for Autism Research (ACAR) transforms research, training and care to improve the quality of life of autistic people and their families. Established in 2017 thanks to the Azrieli Foundation, ACAR operates in the spirit of Open Science, inclusion and community collaboration. The state-of-the-art research centre is committed to advancing understanding of the mechanisms underlying autism and related conditions, developing new diagnostic tools and effective interventions through translational research and integrated care, and training the next generation of fundamental and clinical autism researchers.
