The Timeline of Discovery
Mary L. Cowan Maitland was the first scientist to grow viruses in a petri dish.
Herbert Davenport Kay invented a test for pasteurized milk to help prevent the spread of tuberculosis.
Eva Waddell Mader MacDonald co-developed the rapid Pap test for cervical cancer screening.
David Lloyd MacIntosh invented the Pivot-Shift test and surgical repair for anterior cruciate ligament knee injury.
William Thornton Mustard invented the Mustard heart surgical procedure to cure transposition of the great arteries, also known as the blue baby syndrome, previously a incurable fatal condition.
Charles Robert Scriver discovered that rickets is caused by vitamin D deficiency that could be prevented by fortifying milk with vitamin D.
Henry Friesen purified human prolactin leading to drug treatment for female infertility. He is also the founder of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.
Hugh Symthe first to describe fibromyalgia, a common muscle and sleep disorder previously unrecognized.
Adolfo de Bold discovered the heart hormone atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) launching cardiovascular endocrinology.
Timonthy MacLeod Murray started the first Metabolic Bone Clinic in Canada focused on preventing and treating osteoporosis.
Janet Rossant uncovered how embryonic stem cells develop into other types of cells - a discovery that laid the foundation for regenerative medicine.
Jackie Goldie discovered Interleukin 6 and how it causes autoimmune disease leading to targeted biologic drugs now used for effective arthritis treatment.
David Herman MacLennan discovered that a defect in how muscle cells regulate calcium causes malignant hyperthermia – a rare but serious reaction to anesthesia – leading to the development of diagnostic tests that help prevent the condition.
Mario A. Moscarello discovered the role of myelin in multiple sclerosis leading to new treatments.
Brenda Gaillie identified the genetic cause of retinoblastoma and developed the genetic predictive testing to create the Canadian Retinoblastoma Strategy - the world’s first retinoblastoma clinical care guidelines.
Susan R. George Bahl co-invented a drug screening assay adopted worldwide to screen for new drugs targeting G-protein coupled receptors for treatment of mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
Jayne Danska developed TTI-621, a protein allowing the body to target cancer cells.
Trang Hoang discovered chemotherapy resistant precursor cells to acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common cancer in children, now the target for new drug treatment to improve survival rate.
Brant Walter Zanke and his team discovered the first genetic predictor of colorectal cancer.
Jeffrey V. Leyton discovered a new mechanism for drugs to enter the nucleus of cancer cells, opening a new era of more effective treatment with reduced toxicity to normal cells.
Naweed Iman Syed launched the first human trial of his invention—a neurochip designed to suppress seizures.
Jeremy Hirota, co-Founder and CEO of Infinotype – used cloud-based molecular sequencing software to design new infectious disease diagnostics including a new COVID-19 rapid antigen test (2023).
Daniel Muruve developed a novel drug that is now entering its first human clinical trial, aiming to treat kidney failure caused by diabetes, COVID-19, and other serious diseases.