Alastair Cribb, FCAHS

Alastair Cribb completed his DVM degree at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (University of Saskatchewan) in 1984. Following an internship and two years in mixed practice in the Maritimes, he obtained his PhD in pharmacogenetics/clinical pharmacology at the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto in 1991. He held an MRC post-doctoral fellowship at Dalhousie University, and then spent four years in drug safety assessment with Merck & Co. in West Point, PA.

In 1996, Dr. Cribb joined the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown as a professor of clinical pharmacology where he spent ten years. He was a CIHR/MRC New Investigator and held a Canada Research Chair in Comparative Pharmacology and Toxicology. He was also recognized as one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 for his accomplishments at UPEI, including establishing the PEI Health Research Institute and serving on the task force that lead to the establishment of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He served on the inaugural CIHR Governing Council for five years.

In May, 2006, Dr. Cribb became the founding Dean of the new Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Calgary. The new Faculty was launched with the intent of enhancing interactions between the veterinary and human health communities, and educating veterinarians to serve societal needs. The first undergraduate DVM class entered the program in 2008.

Dr. Cribb’s own research program focuses on molecular mechanisms of drug and chemical toxicity in animals and humans, and the pharmacogenetic basis of adverse drug reactions and cancer susceptibility. He is particularly interested in the molecular genetics of species and individual differences in response to drugs and chemicals. His work has been funded by the CIHR, the Atlantic Innovation Fund, the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative, and others.

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