[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/smaill.jpg.jpg” caption=”Fiona Smaill “]Fiona Smaill has been appointed chair of the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, announced John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Smaill's appointment is effective July 1, 2005 and she had been acting chair of the department for the previous year.

“Dr. Smaill brings her insight, experience and enthusiasm to the academic mission of a department which is recognized for its excellence in basic and clinical research and its strength in undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate education,” said Kelton.

Smaill graduated with her MB, ChB from Otago University in New Zealand in 1978. She came to McMaster University in 1984 and, after completing residencies in internal medicine, infectious diseases and medical microbiology, joined the faculty in 1989. She is a professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, with an associate appointment in the Department of Medicine. She is director of microbiology for the Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program, co-director of the HIV clinic at Hamilton Health Sciences and consultant in infectious diseases and infection control for Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. Her leadership qualities were evident during her management locally of the SARS outbreak in 2003; she currently serves as a member on the Communicable Diseases Subcommittee of the Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee.

Smaill has an extensive background as an educator and researcher. She received her Masters of Science in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University in 1997. She serves as an associate editor for BMJ Evidence-Based Journals and was a founding reviewer of the Cochrane Library. She is chair of the Canadian HIV Clinical Trials Network Scientific Review Committee and locally leads a research team that is very active in clinical trials in HIV.

Smaill has a strong background in postgraduate medical education. She served as program director for the medical microbiology residency program at McMaster University from 1995 to 2003, is a member of the Royal College Nucleus Committee for Infectious Diseases and chair of the Royal College Nucleus Committee for Medical Microbiology. She worked to introduce the new CANMEDS competencies and evaluations into these training programs and is very involved at the Royal College in the process to define core competencies in McMaster's specialty training programs.