Professor Department of Surgery, University of Alberta

Invigorated the field of islet transplantation by leading the team that developed the Edmonton Protocol, an islet transplantation technique considered worldwide as a major advancement for managing severe Type 1 diabetes. He continues his translational research, managing the largest islet transplant program in the world. His work has provided insight into, and furthered our understanding of, immune tolerance. Current efforts include leading Canada-wide research to improve organ procurement through emerging ex vivo perfusion technology. This technology holds the promise of significantly ...

Dr. Rutka is a neurosurgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children, and is the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He is the co-founder of the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre at SickKids. Professor Rutka has been awarded numerous awards, including the Medical Research Council of Canada Career Scientist Award (1999); the Grass Award (Society of Neurological Surgeons, 2004); and the Honoured Guest Award from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (2009). He was President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in 2011, and the American ...

Dean & Vice President, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University

Chair of Medicine at the Michael G DeGroote School of Medicine. Internationally recognizedfor seminal contributions into understanding the causes and treatment ofasthma, including the first studies of the central role of airway inflammationin its initiation and persistence. Hiswork has explained the mechanisms of allergen-induced inflammatory responses andaided the development of anti-leukotrienes as a new asthma treatment. He has published extensively in the mosthighly cited peer-review journals. Hisstudies of asthma treatment have influenced treatment guidelines worldwide. ...

Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Western University

Vladimir Hachinski of the University of Western Ontario pioneered the early treatment and prevention of stroke and cognitive disorders and discovered a crucial area in the brain that controls the heart. He also pioneered acute stroke units with J. W. Norris, and coined the term ‘brain attack’. He also crystallized the concepts of ‘vascular cognitive impairment’ and ‘multi-infarct dementia’ and devised the simplest, most widely used method of diagnosing them (the Hachinski ischemic scale). He is currently working on developing a common approach to prevention of stroke and cognitive disorders ...

Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba

Henry Friesen’s discovery of the human pituitary hormone prolactin and its role in health and disease, defining it as a major cause of infertility, and his collaborating with others in the introduction of new therapies have resulted in the effective treatment of tens of thousands of women worldwide. Dr. Friesen has published over 400 papers and mentored more than 80 post-doctoral fellows and graduate students. In the 1990's, Dr. Friesen served Canada with great distinction as the seventh President of the Medical Research Council of Canada and set the stage for its transformation into the ...

Senior Scientist, McLaughlin-Rotman Centre; UHN Professor of, University of Toronto

Abdallah Daar is a founder of the world-renowned Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, which over 5 years has received $50 M in research grants, including from Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges program. Daar holds the world record for performing the youngest kidney transplant. He is a biomedical scientist, bioethicist and global health expert working with WHO, UNESCO (Laureate of its 2005-6 Avicenna Prize) and the African Union. One of Canada’s most innovative researchers, Daar has over 300 publications and has trained over 100 graduate students. His research is aimed at ...