Dr. Rod Russell is interim associate vice-president (research).

He works closely with staff from the Office of the Vice-President (Research) and the research portfolio, as well as senior academic and administrative leaders, to advance Memorial’s priorities for leading-edge research and innovation.

His appointment is effective Jan. 19, 2026, to Jan. 15, 2027, or upon completion of a successful search for a permanent AVPR, whichever occurs first.

You can follow Dr. Russell on X.

Biography

From 2023-2026, Dr. Russell served as vice dean, research and graduate studies, in the Faculty of Medicine.

A professor of virology and immunology in the Division of BioMedical Sciences, Dr. Russell is a well-respected researcher with national and international collaborations.

He has established an active research lab whose current work focuses on fundamental virology, viral immunology and viral pathogenesis, as well as antiviral drug discovery and development. His team’s main projects have been funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

The past-president of the Canadian Society for Virology, Dr. Russell is a member of the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C and editor-in-chief of Viral Immunology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Russell was a sought-after expert providing skillful scientific insight during more than 150 online, radio and television media interviews.

Dr. Russell holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a master’s degree in medicine from Memorial, and a PhD from McGill University in the field of HIV research. He completed postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health in the United States where his research focus was the hepatitis C virus. He returned to Memorial to establish a research program in 2008.