Born: February 21, 1899, West Pembroke, Maine
Died: March 31, 1978
Education: University of Toronto

Charles Herbert Best, just a few weeks after receiving an Honours Baccalaureate in physiology and chemistry, jumped at the chance for a summer's work with Dr. Frederick Banting. It was a classic case of being the right man in the right place at the right time. Less than three months later, Best's name was known throughout the medical world, and he had not even begun his medical studies. During the research at the University of Toronto, Banting did the surgical work and Best followed with chemical assays, and with Dr. James Collip the purification of the chemical extracts.

Sharing in Banting's Nobel Prize, Best went on to complete doctorates in both medicine and physiology. As a professor of physiology at Toronto, he joined with Banting as a Director of the Banting and Best Institute, where he succeeded in isolating heparin, an effective anti-coagulant. After the Second World War, the Charles Best Institute, scene of further outstanding research, was established in his honour.