A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow since 2010, Main Researcher of the theme Innovation and Digital Transformation, Mélanie Bourassa Forcier is Full Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Université de Sherbrooke. She directs the programs in Health Law and Policy and Life Sciences Law. She is also a member of the Commission de l'éthique en science et en technologie and Deputy Commissioner of Ethics and Regulations for the Commissioner of Health and Welfare.

Holding a Ph.D.in Pharmaceutical Patent Law from McGill University, has expertise in the regulatory framework relating to the marketing and reimbursement of new medical technologies. She is particularly interested in their potential use to make a health care system more efficient, the incentives that encourage their development and the standards that may represent barriers to their implementation in health care systems. She is currently focusing her research on the legal issues (privacy, patents, marketing, liability) related to the implementation of artificial intelligence in the health sector.

She sat on the Board of Directors of the Montreal Heart Institute for nearly 5 years, where she chaired the Risk Management and Vigilance Committees. She has been called upon to present various conferences in London and in the United States on the subject.She has edited and published numerous books and articles on the subject of pharmaceutical regulation and health law. She has been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards and fellowships, including a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship and the Commonweatlh Fellowship.