David Dolphin has been named UBC's acting vice-president, Research.
Dolphin, a professor in the Chemistry Dept., will serve as acting vice-president while a search is conducted for a replacement for Bernard Bressler, who has moved to the position of vice-president, Research, at Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre.
In this role, Dolphin will be responsible for developing, administering and promoting research at UBC as well as continuing to forge university-industry linkages within the university and throughout the community.
Considered a world expert on porphyrin chemistry, Dolphin's research helped spawn the technology for Vancouver-based QLT PhotoTherapeutics Inc., a world leader in the development of light-activated drugs. He serves as vice-president of technology development for QLT and has consulted for chemical and pharmaceutical companies throughout North America.
At UBC, Dolphin has garnered numerous awards and distinctions, among them a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Science Council of British Columbia Gold Medal in Health Sciences and an Izaak Walton Killam Research Prize. Dolphin has also held the positions of associate dean of Science and acting dean of Science during his tenure at UBC.