Announcement: Dr. Frank Beier has been re-appointed as Chair, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
I am pleased to announce Dr. Frank Beier has been re-appointed as Chair, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, effective July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029.
Dr. Beier earned his diploma in Biology from the University of Erlangen in 1991 and went on to earn his PhD in Biology, Cell Biology/Genetics in 1995. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary from 1996 to 2001 and joined Schulich Medicine & Dentistry in 2001 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology. He currently holds an appointment as a Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology.
Dr. Beier’s research interests include regulation of skeletal development and the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. His lab focuses on the role of signaling pathways and gene expression in chondrocytes, and the mechanisms driving the progression of osteoarthritis. His work is currently supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Dr. Beier was the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Musculoskeletal Health from 2001-2011. Since 2013, he holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Musculoskeletal Research.
He was the Director of the Collaborative Graduate Program in Developmental Biology at Western University from 2009-2012 and is a member of several selection and search committees and Senate at Western University. He has also completed terms on the Board of Directors of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International and two NIH study sections.
Dr. Beier is the recipient of the following awards:
- Premier’s Research Excellence Award, 2003-2008,
- Dean’s Award of Excellence for Team in 2003,
- Dean’s Award of Excellence for Junior Faculty in 2007,
- The Schulich Educator Award for Graduate Student Teaching in 2008,
- Faculty Scholar Award at Western University, 2009-2011,
- Scientist of The Year, Children’s Health Research Institute in 2010,
- Dean’s Award of Excellence in Research in 2015, and the
- Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) Basic Science Award in 2019.
In addition, Dr. Beier was Chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Cartilage Biology and Pathology in 2017 and is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and of the International Combined Orthopedic Research Societies.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Beier on his re-appointment.
John Yoo, MD, FRCS(C), FACS
Dean, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Western University
