Biography of the Scientific Director (2000-2006)
Bruce Maxwell McManus, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FCAP, FACC, FCCPDr. Bruce McManus is a Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia. He was appointed Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health in 2000. In the latter capacity, he leads the development and implementation of a national research strategy for addressing outstanding questions related to cardiac, respiratory, vascular, brain (stroke), blood, critical care, and sleep disorders and diseases. Over the past 4 years, he has inaugurated several strategic initiatives in knowledge creation and translation. He has established international linkages and developed programs with such health research funding agencies as the National Health, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, USA and the National Institutes of Health, Mexico. The recent National Research Forum for Young Investigators in Circulatory and Respiratory Health, sponsored by the CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health and its many partners, reflects Dr. McManus’ commitment to a national environment for circulatory and respiratory trainees and young stars that is second to none.
Dr. McManus received BA and MD degrees at the University of Saskatchewan, an MSc in Applied Physiology from Pennsylvania State University, and a PhD in Exercise Physiology and Biochemistry from University of Toledo. He pursued post-doctoral fellowships in Environmental Physiology at the University of California - Santa Barbara and in Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Pathology at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, MD. Residency training at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital - Harvard University in Internal Medicine and Pathology led to board certification in Anatomic Pathology, with subsequent specialization in Cardiovascular Pathology. Following 11 years as a faculty member at the University of Nebraska Medical Centre, Dr. McManus joined the Faculty of Medicine of the University of British Columbia as Department Head of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in July, 1993, a post he held until December, 2000.
Dr. McManus’ investigative program is focused on injury and repair involved in inflammatory diseases of the heart and blood vessels, with particular emphasis on enteroviral infections of the heart and transplant vascular disease. Transdisciplinary work related to biomarkers for allograft rejection and the daily necessity to integrate complex and diverse data for investigative purposes has driven an interest in information management and use. He has co-authored over 250 full-length publications, as well as many chapters. He has edited three books, and has been recognized for his scientific contributions by numerous institutions through visiting professorships and lectureships. He has served as Councillor for the International Society for Heart Research and for the American Society for Investigative Pathology. He is currently on the editorial board of several professional and scientific journals. He is past-president of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology. He has convened many public and private sector partnerships in research. He has long been committed to training and mentoring scientist trainees across a range of disciplines. He was co-recipient of the prestigious Max Planck Research Award with Dr. Reinhard Kandolf in 1991, and he was elected to the Royal Society of Canada as a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences in 2002. He received the UBC Killam Research Prize Senior Scientist Category, and was elected as Fellow of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences in 2003.
Dr. McManus and his wife and long-time co-worker, Janet, enjoy the music, laughter, and successes of the children, Alex, Amity, and Cate, as well as the antics of their emotionally-challenged Miniature Pinscher, Reeba.
Term end: March 31, 2006