Paul Walfish

Last updated
Paul Gerald Walfish
Alma mater University of Toronto
Awards CM, O.Ont
Scientific career
Fields Endocrinology
Institutions Mount Sinai Hospital

Paul Gerald Walfish, CM OOnt was a Canadian endocrinologist "whose research in the area of thyroid physiology and pathology has contributed to improved health care in Canada, especially for newborn infants". [1]

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Walfish graduated from the University of Toronto in 1958 and specialized in internal medicine. After receiving a McLaughlin Foundation Fellowship, he spent a year studying endocrinology at Harvard Medical School. He joined the University of Toronto's Department of Medicine as a teacher, becoming a professor in 1982. [2]

Walfish has worked at Mount Sinai Hospital since 1964 as a scientist and a clinician. He helped pioneer techniques of early thyroid cancer detection using fine-needle biopsies and ultrasounds. [3]

Walfish died from leukemia on 28 July 2018, aged 83. [4]

Honours

In 1990, Walfish was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2007, he was made a Member of the Order of Ontario in recognition for being a "leader in the international thyroidology community". [5]

In 1983, he received an Award of Merit from the City of Toronto. In 1987, he was made a Fellow of the Endocrine Section, the Royal Society of Medicine, England. He was awarded the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2004, he was the first Canadian to receive the American Thyroid Association's Paul Starr Award for outstanding contributions in clinical thyroidology. [2] In 2007, he was awarded the Canadian Medical Association's Medal of Service "for advancing the art and science of treating thyroid diseases worldwide and raising the standards of medical practice in Canada". [6]

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References

  1. "Order of Canada citation".[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 "Paul G. Walfish – CMA Medal of Service 2007" (PDF). Canadian Medical Association.
  3. "Dr. Paul Walfish named to Order of Ontario". Mount Sinai Hospital.
  4. U of T Remembers: Paul Walfish, a leader in thyroid research, developed screening for babies used around the world
  5. "Order of Ontario Recipients Announced". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13.
  6. "Dr. Paul Walfish to receive the CMA 2007 Medal of Service".