Dalhousie announces new dean of the Faculty of Medicine

On Wednesday, Dalhousie announced the appointment of Dr. David Anderson as dean of the Faculty of Medicine, effective July 1, 2015.

Dr. Anderson is currently head and district chief of the Department of Medicine at Dalhousie, a position he’s held since 2011. A faculty member with Dalhousie Medical School for over two decades, he’s an award-winning teacher with over 150 peer-reviewed publications to his name.

“Dr. Anderson brings to the Dean’s Office a great passion and enthusiasm for our medical school and its mission, along with deep relationships within the Faculty and across the region and a strong national reputation,” said President Richard Florizone in a memo to the Dal community. “His character and experience make him exceptionally suited to the tasks of maintaining the high quality of our medical education, of continuing to build significant research capacity, and of increasing the national and international stature of Dalhousie Medical School.”

Dr. Anderson, who earned his MD from Dalhousie in 1983, was previously head of the Division of Hematology at Dal and holds cross-appointments in the Department of Pathology and the Department of Community Health & Epidemiology. He’s been active in the classroom at the undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical educations levels throughout his career and is an esteemed researcher.

Among his accomplishments is co-founding the VECTOR Research Group, a multi-centre Canadian collaborative team focused on thromboembolic research that has received more than $50 million in funding. Dr. Anderson’s research has been supported by peer-review granting councils throughout his career and he also chaired the Department of Medicine’s research committee for nearly a decade.

Dr. Anderson says he’s excited about taking on the deanship of the Faculty of Medicine, which includes campuses in Halifax and Saint John, 14 affiliated teaching hospitals and more than 100 teaching sites across the Maritimes.

“I very much look forward to working with the excellent faculty, staff and students to further the growth and development of our medical school, building upon the long tradition of excellence of high quality undergraduate and postgraduate education,” he says.
I am particularly keen to work with our basic and clinical scientists to continue to facilitate the performance of world-class research.”

In his memo to the Dal community, Dr. Florizone also thanked the outgoing dean, Dr. Tom Marrie, for his service. Last year, Dr. Marrie agreed to postpone his retirement to ensure continuity of leadership during the search for a new dean. Among the many accomplishments during his tenure were a successful new accreditation for the medical school, a complete overhaul of the undergraduate medical curriculum and the successful launch of and first graduating class from the Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick program.