Bryan Neff, associate vice-president (research), has been appointed acting vice-president (research) effective Oct. 1, 2022, for a period of up to June 30, 2023. He replaces Lesley Rigg who is stepping down to assume the presidency at Brock University.
“Bryan is a fantastic addition to the university’s leadership team. His expertise will be invaluable in furthering Western’s research mission and maintaining the strong momentum we’ve built under Lesley’s tenure,” said President Alan Shepard.
Neff joined Western’s department of biology in 2001 and has held numerous leadership roles at Western in undergraduate education, graduate education, and research portfolios. For nine years prior to his current role, he was associate dean of research for the Faculty of Science. He has served on the Senate committee on university planning, the university research board, academic integrity in research activities panel, and with partnering agencies including Genome Canada-Ontario Research Fund on their large-scale applied research project selection panel, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s (NSERC) discovery panel, and NSERC’s strategic planning committee on partnership.
Neff said he is looking forward to continuing to work with colleagues across campus on achieving goals set out in both the university’s strategic plan, Towards Western at 150 and the new Western Research strategic plan, Mobilize for Impact!
“Western is home to world-renowned scholars, top students and staff, leading-edge facilities and professional resources. It’s a particularly exciting time right now as we are submitting proposals for an unprecedented number of major funding programs while continuing to promote and support knowledge creation and dissemination across the spectrum of scholarship,” Neff said.
An expert on the behaviour, genetics and ecology of fishes, Neff has worked extensively to conserve native biodiversity and improve the efficiency and sustainability of the aquaculture industry in Canada and globally. His research bridges both discovery and partnership programs, which has culminated in back-to-back NSERC discovery accelerator supplements and the SYNERGY prize, NSERC’s top award for collaborative research.
