Dr. Dana Devine became the new director of the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) as of January 1st, 2021.
She succeeds Dr. Ed Conway, who brought the Centre to international prominence during his 11 year tenure as director.
“I’m honoured to accept the position of Director, and look forward to building on the CBR’s successes,” said Dr. Devine.
A founding member of the CBR, Dr. Devine is also a professor in UBC’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, the chief scientist at Canadian Blood Services, the president-elect of the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), and the Editor-in-Chief of the blood transfusion journal Vox Sanguinis.
Dr. Devine has been an integral part of the Centre since its inception. She helped write the $15 million Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) grant application that led to the CBR’s creation following the Krever inquiry, along with Drs. Ross MacGillivray, Grant Mauk, Don Brooks, and Charles Haynes. With strong connections to other UBC departments, as well as Canadian Blood Services, Dr. Devine also initiated essential partnerships with collaborators across the divides of different organizations and academic disciplines. The result was the establishment of the CBR in 2002, a research institute unique in its composition and focus.
“If you go back 20 years, there was no such thing as a truly multidisciplinary, multi-faculty blood research centre,” said Dr. Conway. “Dana was one of the people who had the vision for the CBR and what it could accomplish; she really laid the groundwork for what it is now.”
Today, the CBR encompasses over 40 research groups, with members located across the UBC campus, at Canadian teaching hospitals, and at other organizations dedicated to health and healthcare research. Reflecting on the CBR’s development over the years, both Dr. Devine and Dr. Conway agreed on one of its core strengths: the Centre’s collaborative, interdisciplinary nature.
This story is based on an article appearing in the CBR’s January newsletter.
Watch Dr. Devine in an interview with Global TV Edmonton, speaking about convalescent plasma therapy, and how it can help in the fight against COVID-19.