Hugh Wilson, professor of biology, Faculty of Science & Engineering, has been appointed director of the Centre for Vision Research (CVR) at York University.
“I am honoured to receive this appointment at this exciting time for CVR and the University,” said Wilson. “We’re expanding into the Sherman Health Science Research Centre and adding new program initiatives to recruit the best graduates and undergraduates from around the world 
to participate in our research. I also look forward to working with President Mamdouh Shoukri in his efforts to further expand and develop outstanding research centres at York.”
Left: Hugh Wilson
A biologist whose research interests include cortical processing of visual form and motion, Wilson has published widely on psychophysics, visual network models, cortical neuron models and nonlinear dynamics. His recent research paper, published in Nature Neuroscience, describes new evidence about how the brain encodes faces within its higher visual parts.
Wilson joined York’s faculty in 2000 after 15 years at the University of Chicago as a professor of ophthalmology and visual science, neurobiology and biopsychology. He was CVR’s associate director until November 2006 and acting director until he was appointed director effective July 1, 2007. He is Ontario Research Development Challenge Fund Professor of Biological & Computational Vision at York; a fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research; director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research vision health research training grant; and a fellow of the Optical Society of America. In 2006, he received the Helmholtz Award for achievement in neural network studies of sensation and perception.
More about the Centre for Vision Research
An international leader in human and machine vision research, CVR unites researchers with expertise in psychology, biology, computer science, engineering, kinesiology and health science. It is home to a rich history of scientific and health discoveries, technological breakthroughs and commercial applications such as medical devices. CVR’s highly interdisciplinary and collaborative environment features leading-edge facilities and state-of-the-art equipment that allow its researchers to tackle a variety of health concerns, including strokes, migraines, brain disorders and visual deficits in Canada’s aging population.
Submitted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer in York’s Office of the VP Research & Innovation.