Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

Understanding the body and disease process Cancer

Cancer is a group of diseases that involves abnormal growth of cells in potentially every part of our bodies. Some cancers are serious while others can easily be cured.  Survival rates of many types of cancers continue to improve, thanks to early detection, and timely, high quality management.

Doctor and patient Research

Cancer

  1. 1950

  2. 1951

    World’s first non-commercial cobalt-60 therapy unit went into operation at the University of Saskatchewan

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  3. 1951

    The December 15th issue of Nature contained the first formal publication with the details of cobalt therapy

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  4. 1953

    Harold Johns' influential textbook, The Physics of Radiology, was published.

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  5. 1954

    Dr. Charles Beer joined Noble’s research team

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  6. 1956

    Louis Siminovitch joins the Ontario Cancer Institute

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  7. 1958

    Beer and Nobel successfully isolated “vinblastine”

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  8. 1960

  9. 1965

    Along with Samuel Freedman, a noted allergist and immunologist, Dr. Phil Gold published the ground-breaking discovery of CEA

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  10. 1970

  11. 1976

    Dr. Gold established and became the inaugural director of the McGill Cancer Centre

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  12. 1980

  13. 1980's

    Dr. Till’s sphere of research expanded

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  14. 1985

    Established a collaboration with The Liposome Company (Princeton, NJ) to develop nanomedicines to treat cancer

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  15. 1989

    Nahum Sonenberg, PhD, led the first study to show that control of mRNA translation plays a role in oncogenesis, as demonstrated by increasing elF4E levels

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  16. 1990

  17. January 1992

    Co-founded Inex Pharmaceuticals with four members of his UBC laboratory

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  18. 2000

  19. 2004

    Tak Wah Mak became Director of the Campbell Family for Breast Cancer Research Institute at the Princess Margaret Hospital

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  20. 2009

    Marco Marra and his team became the first to publish a genomic study of breast cancer and its metastasis

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  21. 2010

  22. 2012

    The Personalized Oncogenomics (POG) project at BC Cancer was established under Marco Marra’s leadership

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  23. 2016

    Dr. John Dick provided the first evidence that leukemia stem cell gene expression signatures are clinically relevant

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  24. 2018

    Dr. John Dick demonstrated that detection of pre-leukemia haematopoietic stem cells can predict individuals at risk for progression to acute myeloid leukemia up to a decade in advance

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  25. 2020

  26. 2021

The Honourable Sylvia Fedoruk

Cancer, Women in Medicine, Health Policy

Sylvia Fedoruk was the only woman conducting medical-physics research in Canada in the 1950's. Her ground-breaking…

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The Honourable Sylvia Fedoruk

Cancer, Women in Medicine, Health Policy

Sylvia Fedoruk was the only woman conducting medical-physics research in Canada in the 1950's. Her ground-breaking…

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Harold Johns, PhD

Cancer, The Early Days - Health Care Pioneers, Patient Care

Dr. Harold Elford Johns made a worldwide impact on medicine and, in particular, the fight against cancer. During the…

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Robert Noble, MD PhD

Cancer

An esteemed Canadian investigator and ingenious experimentalist, Dr. Noble made profound contributions to endocrinology,…

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Louis Siminovitch, PhD

Cells, Genetics & Genomics, Global Health, Leadership in Organizational Development, The Early Days - Health Care Pioneers

Louis Siminovitch played a fundamental role in the establishment and development of three of the most outstanding medical…

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Charles Beer, PhD

Cancer

In 1954, Dr. Charles T. Beer joined forces with the revered Dr. Robert Noble to study the impact of periwinkle…

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Phil Gold, MD PhD

Cancer

A brilliant mind with a distinguished record of scientific achievement in immunology and cancer, Dr. Phil Gold is known…

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Phil Gold, MD PhD

Cancer

A brilliant mind with a distinguished record of scientific achievement in immunology and cancer, Dr. Phil Gold is known…

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James Till, PhD

Cells, Genetics & Genomics, Leadership in Organizational Development, Cancer

An important partnership was formed when Dr. James Till combined his experience in biophysics with Dr. Ernest McCulloch’s…

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Pieter R. Cullis, PhD

Infectious Disease, Allergy & Immunity

A leader in creating drug delivery systems to treat disease

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cullis

Nahum Sonenberg, PhD

Cells, Genetics & Genomics, Cancer, Infectious Disease, Allergy & Immunity

A celebrated scientist of world reputation, Dr. Sonenberg has helped realize the health enhancing potential of…

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Nahum Sonenberg

Pieter R. Cullis, PhD

Infectious Disease, Allergy & Immunity

A leader in creating drug delivery systems to treat disease

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cullis

Tak Wah Mak, PhD

Cells, Genetics & Genomics, Infectious Disease, Allergy & Immunity, Cancer

Dr. Tak Wah Mak is a world-renowned Canadian scientist whose legacy includes a series of critical discoveries in fields…

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Marco Marra, PhD

Cells, Genetics & Genomics, Cancer, Health and Medical Education & Training

For decades, Dr. Marco Marra has pushed the boundaries of scientific knowledge in an effort to better understand human…

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Marco Marra, PhD

Cells, Genetics & Genomics, Cancer, Health and Medical Education & Training

For decades, Dr. Marco Marra has pushed the boundaries of scientific knowledge in an effort to better understand human…

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John E. Dick, PhD

Cells, Genetics & Genomics

Revolutionized blood cancer research by discovering leukemia stem cells

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John Dick 2 pic

John E. Dick, PhD

Cells, Genetics & Genomics

Revolutionized blood cancer research by discovering leukemia stem cells

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John Dick 2 pic

About the CMHF

The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (CMHF) celebrates Canadian heroes whose work advances health in Canada and the world, fostering future generations of health professionals through the delivery of local and national youth education programs and awards.

This enduring tribute to our country’s rich medical history is showcased here and in our physical exhibit hall in London, ON