Biochemistry

Biochemistry developed during the 1920s under Andrew Hunter and in the following twenty-two year reign of Hardolph Wasteneys (1929-1951). While Arthur Wynne was Chair in the 1950s the professorial staff only increased from four to six, but one of his appointees was George Connell. After Charles Hanes’ chairmanship, George Connell led the Department from 1965 to 1970, and later became President of the University. The next Chair, G. Ronald Williams, went on to be Principal of Scarborough College. Between 1960 and 1977 the professorial staff grew from 6 to 40, although half were cross-appointees or status-only appointees from the hospital Research Institutes. The subsequent two Chairs, Keith Dorrington and Harry Schachter, excelled in research while coping with problems created by budgetary restraints. The last Chairs, Peter Lewis and Reinhart Reithmeier, revitalized the Department, increased the professorial staff, and encouraged the enlargement of the discipline of biochemistry to include structural, molecular and cellular biology, computational biology, and bioinformatics. Meanwhile, the heavy teaching responsibilities of the Department to medical students and 1800 students in Arts and Science continued. MP

Links:

Packham, Marian Aitchison, 100 Years of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto: An Illustrated History 1908-2008. (2008)

http://www.biochemistry.utoronto.ca/department/history.html

http://biochemistry.utoronto.ca/about/history/

Research Interests

Membranes and Transport

Protein Folding

Proteomics and Bioinformatics

Signal Transduction and Regulation

Biomolecular Structure and Function

Gene Expression and Development

Molecular Cell Biology

Molecular Medicine