Atlantic Veterinary College Professor Named Chair of Canadian Council on Animal Care
Dr. Andy Tasker, well known Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) professor and researcher at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), recently became Chair of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). This is the first time a for PEI representative to be Chair of the CCAC which includes representatives from more than twenty national organizations.
The CCAC is the national organization responsible for overseeing the care and use of animals in research, teaching, and testing in all universities and government agencies in Canada, as well as most industrial research programs.
"The CCAC is recognized and respected world wide for its programs and commitment to cooperative improvement of the scientific and ethical standards of animal use in Canada," says Dr. Tasker. "It is an honour to be able to further contribute to the organization and its goals."
Dr. Tasker has served as one of four representatives of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada since 2001 and last year was the CCAC Vice-Chair. His term as Chair runs from April 1, 2005 until March 31, 2006.
"Dr. Tasker's appointment as Chair of the CCAC is a considerable achievement," says Dr. Tim Ogilvie, Dean of AVC. "He is extremely committed to health research and I'm confident the CCAC will benefit greatly from Dr. Tasker's leadership and experience."
As AVC's past Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, Dr. Tasker played a significant leadership role in a number of successful initiatives, including achieving an all time high in graduate student numbers for the College.
Dr. Tasker's research is in the area of behavioural neuroscience. As, part of the Canadian Stroke Network, he is a member of a multi-researcher team actively developing a new class of drugs to help prevent brain damage caused by stroke. Dr. Tasker also leads a major federally and industry-funded research program to better understand the regulation of brain development and its relation to neurological diseases such as epilepsy.
Dr. Tasker is also one of the lead scientists of the new Atlantic Centre for Comparative Biomedical Research (ACCBR) at UPEI. This federally funded Centre will be the first of its kind in Canada and will bring together animal health and human health researchers to develop a better understanding of medical treatments and allow for discovery and development of new products for both markets. This centre will be housed with other AVC centres of expertise in a new 57,000 square foot research complex to be built as part of AVC's $32 million expansion and renovation project. AVC is gearing up to break ground this Fall.
