Toronto (Dec. 12, 2006) - UHN congratulates OCI's fathers of stem cell research Drs. Ernest McCulloch and James Till as well as retinoblastoma expert Dr. Brenda Gallie who were among the twenty-nine newest appointees to the Order of Ontario yesterday. This honour is the province's highest award for excellence in any field of endeavour.
Drs. Till and McCulloch, who received both the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research and the Royal Society of Canada's Centenary Medal in 2005, laid the foundation for stem cell science with their pioneering work more than 45 years ago. Their discovery demonstrating the existence of stem cells and their properties has led to bone marrow transplants for treating leukemia and is paving the way for new therapeutic avenues in Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries and many more diseases.
Dr. Gallie's research into the rare childhood eye tumour has led to insights into the genetic development of cancer. Her work led to development of very highly sensitive molecular tests which accurately identify the children at risk of developing retinoblastoma before they are born.
Find out more about Drs. Till in McCulloch's groundbreaking discoveries in the cover story of Net Results Summer 2006.
