Isabelle Blain

Biography

  Until her retirement from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council in December 2013, Isabelle Blain was Vice-President of Research Grants and Scholarships, a position she occupied for 11 years. Isabelle had direct responsibility for Canada's award programs that promote discovery and the training of highly qualified personnel in the natural sciences and engineering. The annual budget for these programs was more than $600 million. She led the strategic planning and oversaw the delivery of programs and their periodic review.  Her priorities included the implementation of recommendations from major reviews that led to a revamping of the peer review process, and the launch of new scholarships and fellowships programs—including the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships Program, and Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program. She had responsibilities for 90 staff.Isabelle has enjoyed an outstanding and varied career at NSERC. Between 1998 and 2002, she was NSERC’s Corporate Secretary. Previous to that, she was the Coordinator of Review and Investigation. Isabelle also served the Research Grants Division for a number of years in the capacity of Research Grants Officer and later as the Chief of Coordination. Her interim appointments have included the Director of Human Resources and Director General of the Common Administrative Services Directorate of NSERC and SSHRC.   Before joining NSERC, Isabelle worked for 10 years as an industrial researcher, and project manager in microbiology and process improvement for Joseph E. Seagram et Fils, Limitée.

Research Interest

Engineering