Jim Woodgett is the President and Scientific Director of the Terry Fox Research Institute, headquartered in Vancouver with research nodes across Canada. He is also a Senior Scientist at Toronto’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health and Professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto. Prior to becoming TFRI President Dr. Woodgett served as Director of Research at LTRI from 2005-2021. Following a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Dundee, Scotland Jim pursued postdoctoral studies at the Salk Institute. He then set up a research group at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the Middlesex Hospital, London where he isolated and characterized the genes for several key cellular regulators. In 1992 he was recruited to the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto where his lab focussed on the causes and treatment of breast cancer, liver cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease and bipolar disorder. What links this broad range of diseases is their common basis in disruption of the lines of communication (signalling pathways) within cells. By studying the ways in which components of these pathways are mutated and transformed by disease, his team have identified new and more effective therapeutic targets. With 300+ publications to date, he has trained over 50 students and fellows, many of whom have gone on to scientific careers.
Dr. Woodgett is one of Canada’s most respected basic scientists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Scholar as well as an MRC Scientist and CIHR Senior Investigator.
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.
