Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

John Dick and Zulfiqar Bhutta – both researchers at the University of Toronto and its hospital partners – have been honoured with 2022 Canada Gairdner Awards, the country’s most prestigious awards for medical and health science.

A professor of molecular genetics at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and a senior scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Dick was recognized with a Gairdner International Award for the discovery of leukemic stem cells and later work on the diagnosis and treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.

Bhutta, a professor in the departments of nutritional sciences and pediatrics at Temerty Medicine and at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and the director of the Centre for Global Child Health and a senior scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children, was recognized with the John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award for his research on community-based and policy interventions in child and maternal health, especially among vulnerable populations.

Established in 1957, the Gairdner Foundation has given 402 awards to scientists around the world. About a quarter of those researchers later received Nobel Prizes. The foundation gives seven awards annually. Each recipient receives $100,000 and participates in public lectures, research symposia and other outreach events. The foundation is supported by the Government of Canada.

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John Dick elected to National Academy of Medicine

lanthierj — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 15:30:50 +0000

John Dick elected to National Academy of Medicine

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Mon, 10/19/2020 - 11:30

Faculty

St. George

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Department of Molecular Genetics

landscape

(photo by imagesbydelmar)

Dr. John Dick, a professor in the department of molecular genetics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine (NAM).

The NAM is one of three academies that comprise the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in the United States. Each year, the NAM elects up to 100 members, including 10 international members, recognized for their achievements in health and medicine.

A Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology, Dick is globally recognized for his discovery of leukemia stem cells, made possible by an assay he developed. The assay involves transplanting cells from human adult bone marrow, normal or cancerous, into an experimental model to gauge cancer initiation. Using this approach, he revealed that only a small subset of these cells was capable of initiating leukemia and was the main cause of disease relapse. These contributions have helped shape the understanding of cancer and reveal new strategies for curing the disease.

“The University of Toronto congratulates Professor John Dick on this richly deserved recognition,” said University Professor Ted Sargent, vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “He has revolutionized our understanding of leukemia.”

Tak Mak wins the Gold Leaf Prize for Discovery

perry.king — Thu, 23 May 2019 20:52:37 +0000

Tak Mak wins the Gold Leaf Prize for Discovery

Research & Innovation

perry.king Thu, 05/23/2019 - 16:52

Faculty

St. George

Faculty of Medicine

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Medical Biophysics

Immunology

landscape

(photo courtesy of University Health Network)

University Professor Tak Mak, from the departments of medical biophysics and immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, has been named the 2018 recipient of the Gold Leaf Prize for Discovery.

The $100,000 prize, from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, recognizes groundbreaking health research and will support new research.

Mak, a senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, is renowned for a career that has spanned biochemistry, virology, genetics, cancer metabolism and clinical therapy.

Earlier this year, his group used genetics to show that the nervous system and immune system communicate through a molecule called acetylcholine. The discovery confirmed a long-suspected, but poorly understood, link between the two systems, opening several new avenues of research.

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Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

John Dick, Zulfiqar Bhutta receive 2022 Canada Gairdner Awards

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John Dick elected to National Academy of Medicine

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Tak Mak wins the Gold Leaf Prize for Discovery

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