Brian Cox PhD

Biography

Dr. Cox completed his MSc in Biochemistry at the University of Guelph and his PhD in Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto. He is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology. He spent several years in the bio-tech sector working on antimicrobial drug development and has trained in multiple disciplines including biochemistry, environmental chemistry, toxicology, developmental biology and bioinformatics. Currently, he heads the Cox Systems Biology Lab in the Department of Physiology.

In addition to his many teaching commitments, he also devised and developed the course, PSL4040 Big Data that introduces R programing and data analysis of clinical and physiological data and new six-week lecture series on maternal physiological adaptation to pregnancy as part of PSL305. He has also received the Robert Goode Early Career Teaching Award from the Department of Physiology and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine Early Career Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentorship Award. He was a past recipient of a Teir II Canada Research Chair in maternal fetal communication.

From the Nomination

Professor Cox is an outstanding researcher, educator and mentor who strives to develop student research knowledge and skills and to provide enriching hands-on research experiences for undergraduates. Student letters supporting this nomination speak of Professor Cox’s excellence as a mentor.

One writes: “Even as an undergraduate student in his lab, he gave me as much support as the graduate students, not just for research questions but also to discuss my interests and career goals.” Another adds: “. . . often spending hours sharing his knowledge of bioinformatics, experimental design, and data analysis, which strongly motivated me to learn R. When the opportunity arose for me to present my project at the Canadian Undergraduate Conference on Healthcare (CUCOH) in Kingston, Brian offered to fund the 3-day . . . and worked tirelessly to provide feedback for my presentation.”

About the Award

This award recognizes sustained excellence, mentorship and innovative methods that link undergraduate teaching to experiential research opportunities such as research project courses, summer student research projects or equivalent programs.