Executive Team

CCDS Executive Slate (2022-24)

President    Rui Wang (York University – Ontario)
Vice President & Secretary Hans-Peter Loock (University of Victoria)
Treasurer Melike Schalomon (MacEwan University)
Executive Members At Large Bernadette Ardelli (Brandon University – Manitoba)
Kristen Baetz (University of Calgary – Alberta)
Lori Francis (Saint Mary’s University – Nova Scotia)
Line Lapointe (Université Laval – Quebec)
Jonathan Withey (Mount Royal University – New Brunswick)

President

Rui Wang (MD, PhD, FRSC, FCAHS, FAHA)

Dr. Rui Wang has been the Dean of the Faculty of Science at York University, Canada since 01/2020. He had been the Interim Vice-President Research and Innovation as well as the inaugural Deputy Provost Markham of York University for 07/2018-04/2020. He was the Vice-President Research of Laurentian University in Sudbury for 2015-2018 and the Vice-President Research, Economic Development and Innovation at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay for 2004-2014.

Dr. Wang is an international leader in biomedical study of a group of small molecules of gas, known as gasotransmitters, a category which includes nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Over the course of his career, Dr. Wang has received >$13M research funding. He has published 299 peer-reviewed papers in leading scientific journals and edited 3 books. Dr. Wang’s achievements have been recognized with numerous honors and awards, including being elected as a Fellow of Royal Society of Canada (2020), Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2010), the Federation of Canadian Chinese Professionals Award of Merit (2017), and Pfizer Senior Scientist Award of Canadian Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (2008).

Vice President & Secretary 

Hans-Peter Loock

Dr. Hans-Peter Loock received his bachelor at the Technical University Darmstadt, Germany, in engineering chemistry, then moved to UVic to obtain his PhD in Chemistry. He spent 25 years in Ontario – first as a postdoc at the NRC in Ottawa but mostly at Queen’s – before UVic recruited him back to the West Coast. He has been Dean of Science (150 Faculty in 6 departments with about 400 graduate students and 3000 undergrads) since January 2020.

Treasurer

Melike Schalomon

After beginning her university education in Medicine in her native Germany, Dr. Schalomon immigrated to Canada. She holds a BSc in Behavioural Neuroscience at Laurentian University, as well as an MSc in Psychology and PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Alberta. Her research is focused on behavioural neuropharmacology in zebrafish. Dr. Schalomon joined MacEwan University in Edmonton as a sessional instructor in 1996 and currently holds a faculty appointment as Professor of Psychology. She served as Associate Dean, Operations for 7 years prior to her appointment in 2020 as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science. MacEwan’s Faculty of Arts and Science has 200 tenure track faculty members and approximately 4,700 FLEs across 9 academic departments.

Executive Members at Large

Bernadette Ardelli

To be updated


Kristen Baetz

To be updated


Lori Francis

Originally from rural Newfoundland, Dr. Francis is a first-generation university graduate.

She holds degrees in Psychology, including a BSc from St. Francis Xavier University, an MSc from McMaster, and a PhD University of Guelph. Dr. Francis joined the Saint Mary’s University Department of Psychology as an Assistant Professor in 2002. Over the course of her career at Saint Mary’s University she actively engaged in research, teaching, and service, being promoted to Full Professor in 2014. In 2017, she joined the Dean of Science team as Associate Dean of Science: Student Affairs. Dr. Francis served as Acting Dean of Science 2018-2021 and was appointed Dean of Science in September 2021. Lori lives in Halifax with her husband Brian and their two sons.


Dr. Line Lapointe

Line Lapointe

Dr. Line Lapointe received her bachelor and master’s degree from Universite de Montreal before moving to the University of Western Ontario to complete a PhD in plant sciences. She has been a faculty member at Laval University since 1992. She was appointed chair of the Department of Biology for 7 years, and since 2017 she holds the position of Vice-Dean Research in the Faculty of Sciences and Engineering. The faculty has 260 tenure-track faculty members and over 6000 students across 13 academic departments.


Jonathan Withey

Dr. Jonathan Withey held undergraduate and graduate degrees in Chemistry from the University of Oxford. He started his academic career in 2004 at MacEwan University (Edmonton). He has been Dean of the Faculty of Science & Technology at Mount Royal University (Calgary) since January 2017. The Faculty offers a Bachelor of Computer Information Systems program as well as a variety of majors within its Bachelor of Science degree. There are approximately 90 full-time faculty and 2,000 students in Science & Technology at Mount Royal.