Person: Francois Legault

Sylvain Laporte has been appointed president of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), effective March 9th. Laporte’s announcement was made in a terse two-sentence statement on February 27th by the Prime Minister’s Office. The position has been vacant since November 3/14 following the surprise departure of Walter Natynczyk who was appointed DM of Veteran Affairs after…

Dr François Blais has been appointed minister of the Quebec Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology. Blais comes to the ministry during a period of uncertainty over provincial funding of science, research and innovation. He replaces Yves Bolduc who quit politics February 26th following controversial comments on the appropriateness of strip searching high…

Dr Molly Shoichet has been awarded the 2015 L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award — one of five awarded globally for achievement in the physical sciences. Shoichet is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Tissue Engineering and professor of chemical engineering and applied chemistry, chemistry and biomaterials and biomedical engineering at the Univ of…

Francois Legault has been appointed board chairman of Montreal-based Verlyx Pharma Inc (formerly Oncozyme Pharma), a privately held biotechnology company focused on the treatment of liver disorders. Legault has a long career in the biotechnology industry. Positions include executive VP at BioChem Pharma prior to its acquisition by Shire Pharmaceuticals, and president, COO and co-founder…