1994 INDUCTEE James Collip, MD PhD Hormones, Diabetes, Diabetes

James Bertram Collip posthumously inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

London, Ontario

Dr. Collip finished his brilliant career with a 14-year tenure as the Dean of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario

He shaped the medical school into an internationally renowned centre of medical education.

Following Dr. Banting’s untimely death in 1941, Dr. Collip acted as chair of the Medical Research Council of Canada

During the Second World War, he became a leader in Canadian wartime medical research.

Collip established and became Chair of McGill University’s new Institute of Endocrinology

At the Institute, he established a prestigious reputation for its research endeavours. Here, Collip continued his research on hormones, combining his skills in biochemistry with endocrinology.

Passing over an invitation from the Mayo Clinic, Collip instead joined McGill University as the head of their new Department of Biochemistry

During his tenure at McGill, his research on pituitary hormones was successful in isolating ACTH, a stress hormone which can be a factor in Addison’s Disease.

Dr. James Collip succeeded in isolating the parathyroid hormone (PTH)

This work established an endocrine function of the parathyroid glands.

Macleod and Banting were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize

Macleod shared his monetary prize with Dr. Collip, to acknowledge his significant contribution.

Following his early success, Collip returned to the University of Alberta where he accepted a position as head of the Department of Biochemistry

His research focus was isolating the parathyroid glands’ peptide that maintained normal blood calcium levels in the body.

While on sabbatical, James Collip was invited by Dr. J.J.R. Macleod to work with Drs. Banting and Best

Collip was able to refine and purify insulin to a form which permitted clinical use.

Enrolled at Trinity College at only 15 years old, Collip was one of the youngest students

By the age of 24, he had completed a doctorate degree in biochemistry and was working as a lecturer at the University of Alberta.