Dr. Friesen was from 2000 until July 2005 Founding Chair, Genome Canada, a $600 million budget non-profit organization that supports national genomics to benefit Canadian science and industry. From 1991 to 2000 Dr. Friesen was President of the Medical Research Council of Canada and was instrumental in transforming it into the Canadian Institute of Health Research, an organization with an annual budget of over $650 million per year dedicated to supporting Canadian researchers as well as industry participants. Dr. Friesen is noted for his discoveries about the human hormone prolactin and as Head of the Department of Physiology and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Friesen is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Companion of the Order of Canada and also sits on the board of directors of Sanofi Pasteur Canada and Spectral Diagnostics Inc. Dr. Friesen has been a director of the Corporation since November 2001. |