It is with great sadness we learned of the passing of our dear colleague and friend Dr. Pierre Assalian on Friday, September 25 after a brief but intense leukemia. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered.
Pierre devoted his life to the well-being of others. As a psychiatrist, he was a member of the Department of Psychiatry at the McGill University Health Center (Montreal General Hospital) for 45 years. He was an associate professor in the McGill Department of Psychiatry. He founded the Human Sexuality Unit in 1978 and was the first psychiatrist in Canada to be a certified sex therapist of the American Association of Sex Therapists.
He has been not only a Quebec but Canadian leader in the field of human wellness. He was a Canadian pioneer and well recognized both nationally and internationally in the field of Sexual Medicine. I had the privilege to present and discuss with him on many topics. He was a friend.
He served on the board and was member of numerous organizations, including the ISSM standards committee, SFMS where he was one of the founding members, Association de Médicine Sexuelle du Québec, Canadian Sex Research Forum (CSRF service award in 2012, Past Executive Director). He was the host, in Montreal, of the 17th World Association for Sexual Health meeting in 2005.
His colleagues remember him as a great human being. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered.
Please join me in offering our deepest condolences to his beloved wife, Bette, and his entire family.
Please consult and sign the virtual register at www.urgelbourgie.com
Written by Dr. Serge Carrier, Canada