Connie Jean Eaves | |
---|---|
Born | Constance Jean Halperin May 22, 1944 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada [1] |
Died | March 7, 2024 79) | (aged
Education | Queen's University (BA),(MS) University of Manchester (PhD) |
Awards | FRSC Royal Society of Canada (2008) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | |
Institutions | University of British Columbia |
Website | University website |
Constance Jean Eaves OC FRSC FRS CorrFRSE (née Halperin; May 22, 1944 – March 7, 2024) was a Canadian biologist with significant contributions to cancer and stem cell research. [2] [3] Eaves was a professor generics of genetics at the University of British Columbia [3] and was also the co-founder with Allen C Eaves of Terry Fox Laboratory (Vancouver, Canada).
In high school, Eaves was interested in becoming a physician but later decided to pursue research due to gender discrimination in medical school acceptance rates. [4]
Eaves received a BA in Biology and Chemistry and in 1964 and 1966 an MSc in biology (Genetics) working on oncogenic viruses from Queen's University. [4] She then pursued doctoral training at the Paterson Laboratories of the Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute and obtained a PhD from the University of Manchester in Great Britain in 1969.
Eaves did postdoctoral work on hematopoiesis at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto, Canada, as a member of the research team of James Till and Ernest McCulloch.
After completing her studies, moved to British Columbia because she was offered an academic position at the University of British Columbia. [4]
Her contributions to the professional and scholarly community include acting as the editor-in-chief of the journal Experimental Hematology , [5] in addition to serving as the president of the National Cancer Institute (Canada), [6] the associate scientific director of the Canadian Stem Cell Network, [6] and president of the International Society of Experimental Hematology. [6]
Connie Eaves died on March 7, 2024, at the age of 79. [7]
Eaves was also a professor of Medical Genetics and an Associate Member of Medicine and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia. [14]
In recognition of the significant impact Drs. Connie and Allen Eaves have made on global cancer research and treatment over the past 50 years, the BC Cancer Foundation has unveiled the inauguration of the Eaves Stem Cell Assay Laboratory to honor their enduring legacy. [15]
Michael Smith was a British-born Canadian biochemist and businessman. He shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kary Mullis for his work in developing site-directed mutagenesis. Following a PhD in 1956 from the University of Manchester, he undertook postdoctoral research with Har Gobind Khorana at the British Columbia Research Council in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Subsequently, Smith worked at the Fisheries Research Board of Canada Laboratory in Vancouver before being appointed a professor of biochemistry in the UBC Faculty of Medicine in 1966. Smith's career included roles as the founding director of the UBC Biotechnology Laboratory and the founding scientific leader of the Protein Engineering Network of Centres of Excellence (PENCE). In 1996 he was named Peter Wall Distinguished Professor of Biotechnology. Subsequently, he became the founding director of the Genome Sequencing Centre at the BC Cancer Research Centre.
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John Edgar Dick is Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network and Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto in Canada. Dick is credited with first identifying cancer stem cells in certain types of human leukemia. His revolutionary findings highlighted the importance of understanding that not all cancer cells are the same and thus spawned a new direction in cancer research. Dick is also known for his demonstration of a blood stem cell's ability to replenish the blood system of a mouse, his development of a technique to enable an immune-deficient mouse to carry and produce human blood, and his creation of the world's first mouse with human leukemia.
Elaine V. Fuchs is an American cell biologist known for her work on the biology and molecular mechanisms of mammalian skin and skin diseases, who helped lead the modernization of dermatology. Fuchs pioneered reverse genetics approaches, which assess protein function first and then assess its role in development and disease. In particular, Fuchs researches skin stem cells and their production of hair and skin. She is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development at The Rockefeller University.
Peter W. Zandstra, is a Canadian scientist who is the Director of the Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia.
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Alan Bernstein is Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto and President Emeritus of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), where he served as President and CEO from 2012 to 2022. A Distinguished Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, he is also a Fellow and Member of the Standing Committee for Science Planning at the International Science Council (2022-2025). Canadian Bernstein is recognized as a leader in health research, science policy, mentorship and organizational leadership.
Till & McCulloch are James Till and Ernest McCulloch who, while studying the effect of radiation on the bone marrow of mice at the Ontario Cancer Institute, in Toronto, demonstrated the existence of multipotent stem cells in 1961.
Michael R. Hayden, is a Killam Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia, the highest honour UBC can confer on any faculty member. Only four such awards have ever been conferred in the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Hayden is also Canada Research Chair in Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine. Hayden is best known for his research in Huntington disease (HD).
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The UBC Faculty of Medicine is the medical school of the University of British Columbia. It is one of 17 medical schools in Canada and the only one in the province of British Columbia. It has Canada's largest undergraduate medical education program and the fifth-largest in the U.S. and Canada. It is ranked as the 2nd best medical program in Canada by Maclean's, and 27th in the world by the 2017 QS World University Rankings.
Margaret ("Peggy") A. Goodell is an American scientist working in the field of stem cell research. Dr. Goodell is Chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine, Director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (STaR) Center, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She is best known for her discovery of a novel method to isolate adult stem cells.
Ronald G. Worton is a Canadian doctor.
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Elizabeth Patton, Ph.D FRSE is professor of chemical genetics and group leader of Medical Research Council Institute for Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM) Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh, Personal Chair of Melanoma Genetics and Drug Discovery for a disease which kills 20,000 Europeans a year, and accounts for 80% of all skin cancer deaths. Her research into the genetic models and drug interactions testing, sharing international findings, is mainly using zebrafish in conjunction with the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre. She holds a number of academic leadership roles in UK, Europe and international scientific bodies.
Editor-in-Chief, Connie J. Eaves, PhD, British Columbia Cancer Agency and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.