News

Smallpox Eradication

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This sketch, called 'Incident of the Smallpox Epidemic, Montreal,' by Robert Harris, shows the violence with which the sanitary police removed smallpox patients from the public to quarantine them. The illustration was first published in Harper's Weekly, on Nov. 28, 1885. PHOTO BY ROBERT HARRIS

In today’s Ottawa Citizen, Ryan Briggs and Christopher Rutty argue for the declaration of “Smallpox Eradication Day.” In the context of COVID-19, which reminded the world of the power of a novel virus to bring illness and death, Briggs and Rutty make the case that it is important to remember what was accomplished on Dec. 9, 1979.

You can read more in Chris’s article titled “Smallpox: ‘The Speckled Monster'” which was written for the University of Toronto Connaught Fund website for his series on the Connaught Laboratories.

Events

Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Nobel Prize for the Discovery of Insulin to Banting and Macleod: Impact and Legacy

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Nobel Laureate Dr Arthur Mcdonald; Professor Erling Norrby of Stockholm; Her Excellency Signe Burgstaller, Ambassador of Sweden to Canada; Nobel Laureate John Polanyi; Dr John Dirks

On November 27, 2023, the Toronto Medical Historical Club hosted a successful symposium celebrating the 100th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Frederick Banting and JJR Macleod for the discovery of insulin. The event brought together a distinguished panel of speakers to reflect on the impact and legacy of the insulin discovery and to inspire future research advancement.

Insulin 100 News

First Canadian Nobel Prize is 100 years old

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Christopher Rutty is interviewed in this article “L’insuline, découverte vitale et bisbille créatrice : le 1er Nobel canadien a 100 ans” at CBC/Radio-Canada. Today marks the 100th anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Frederick Banting and JJR Macleod for the discovery of insulin.

Chris is also featured in the television story on the centenary that is available here.

Insulin 100 News

Unveiling of JJR Macleod Memorial Statue in Aberdeen

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John Dirks travelled to Aberdeen to speak at the unveiling of a memorial statue commemorating John James Rickard Macleod, co-discoverer of insulin. Over 300 people attended the luncheon and unveiling of the statue.

The JJR Macleod Memorial Statue Society has been working for over a year to raise the funds and commission a sculpture by Ayrshire-based sculptor John McKenna. The statue is located at Aberdeen’s Duthie Park and will be the first “storytelling statue” in Scotland. Visitors will be able to scan a QR code to hear a brief recording of an actor speaking as Macleod.

News

Ode to Ingenuity

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MADAS VII T Mechanical Calculator, 1940s [Photo: Kailee Mandel, UT Magazine]

Erich Weidenhammer is interviewed in the article “Ode to Ingenuity” in the University of Toronto Magazine. The beautifully illustrated article describes the importance of historical scientific instruments. Erich explains how an artifact can provide insights beyond what can be gleaned from scientific papers.

Erich is curator of the University of Toronto Scientific Instruments Collection which gathers, safeguards, researches, catalogues, and interprets the material heritage of research at the University of Toronto. It is one of the largest collections of historical scientific instruments in Canada.