Club members John Dirks, Peter Kopplin, Christopher Rutty and Alison Li, along with colleagues Gary Goldberg, Erling Norrby of Stockholm and James Wright of Calgary and partners Christine Kopplin, Andrea Rutty, and Elsebeth Welander-Berggren were warmly welcomed to Aberdeen by John Otto and Kimberlie Hamilton, co-founders of the JJR Macleod Memorial Statue Society, and by our good friend Kenneth McHardy.
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.
Congratulations to Christopher Rutty whose new article ““It Works! Now What?” Insulin Development, Production, and Distribution at Connaught Laboratories, University of Toronto, 1922–24″ appears in the Canadian Journal of Health History.
Chris’ article focuses on Connaught’s intimate involvement in the history of insulin from January 1922 through the summer of 1924, tracing the challenges and innovations of developing larger-scale production methods, the establishment and expansion of Canadian insulin production capacity, and the key role the labs played in spearheading the global distribution of insulin.
Alison Li has two new articles offering perspectives on the discovery of insulin during this year’s centenary celebrations.
“Rethinking the ‘discovery’ of insulin” appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, 25 October 2021
“Insulin’s centenary: complexity and collaboration” appeared in The Lancet, 13 November 2021, as part of an issue on the challenging theme: “100 years of insulin: technical success but access failure.”
Club members Alison Li and Christopher Rutty served as keynote speakers at the day-long celebrations marking the unveiling of a new monument in honour of Dr. James Bertram Collip in his hometown of Belleville, Ontario. Collip played a pivotal role in the discovery of insulin in 1921-22, along with co-discoverers Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and J.J.R. Macleod.
Dignitaries including Mayor Mitch Panciuk and other city, provincial, and federal officials, along with descendants of Collip who journeyed from San Antonio, Texas. The “Dr James Bertram Collip Memorial Committee” Rowland Tipper, Richard Hughes, and Ian Sullivan are to be congratulated for their efforts in bringing this effort to fruition.
