Halifax’s IWK Health Centre, Atlantic Canada's largest children's hospital, has appointed a new vice-president of research and innovation, Dr. Frank MacMaster.

In his new role, MacMaster will oversea R&D efforts, like clinical trials, at the hospital, making him an important player in the world of medtech and life sciences innovation. The IWK is both a  key testing ground and occasional customer for startups in Nova Scotia, such as mammography software-maker Densitas and MARS VR Lab.

MacMaster is the former scientific director of addictions and mental health for Alberta Health Services, where he presided over the work of more than 570 researchers, and has taught at the University of Calgary for 12 years. He specializes in researching the causes of neurodevelopmental and mental disorders, particularly in youths.

“Given the paucity of information on neurodevelopmental and mental disorders in children and adolescents, there is an urgent need to uncover the origins of these disorders and develop effective and optimally targeted interventions,” MacMaster wrote in his LinkedIn profile, explaining his research focus.

MacMaster is also slated to become Dalhousie University’s latest professor of psychiatry. He previously completed most of his university training at Dalhousie and his mental health clinical training at the IWK.