Congratulations to Dr. Brian Amsden on his role as Associate Vice-Principal Research. Brian’s term will begin on November 1st, and he will be focused on natural sciences and engineering research at Queen’s, serving as Queen’s NSERC Leader.
Dr. Amsden will contribute to the strategic vision and development of research initiatives university wide, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Working closely with Faculties, he will provide institutional leadership for the coordination and attraction of resources and partnerships to enhance Queen’s natural sciences and engineering research strategies and profile.
Dr. Amsden is a Professor and former Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering. He joined Queen’s in 2000 as an Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering and has built strong research connections within Queen’s, external institutions , and industry. Since joining Queen’s, Dr. Amsden has run a collaborative research program, building connections with researchers in the Departments of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Surgery, and various departments in Smith Engineering at Queen's. He has also collaborated with researchers at other Canadian universities as part of an NSERC CREATE Program in Soft Connective Tissue Regeneration/Therapy (CONNECT), which he established and directed, as well as with researchers in New Zealand, Germany, and the United States. The CREATE program involved several industrial partners with whom he coordinated graduate student internships. He has received funding from several sources, including NSERC, CIHR, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the CFI Leaders Opportunity Fund, and the Ontario Centres of Excellence. Dr. Amsden has been engaged in graduate programming in Biomedical Engineering as a co-developer of a collaborative graduate program across several departments in Smith Engineering at Queen's. He has worked in a start-up company and has experience with the commercialization of his own research as well as the intellectual property of several Canadian start-up companies through consulting activities.