The University of Western Ontario recognized the significant contribution to research of Dr. Calvin Stiller by awarding him an honorary degree at its fall convocation. Dr. Stiller, a member of the OICR Board of Directors, has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to helping Ontarians who have been affected by illness.

A native of Naicam, Saskatchewan, Stiller received his medical degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1965 and his fellowship in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPC) in 1975 following seven years of post-graduate studies in Edmonton and London, Ontario. In London, Stiller launched a career that has spanned three decades and successful initiatives in science, medicine, business and public service.

In 1985 Dr. Stiller established the Multi-Organ Transplant Service in London and served as its chief for over a decade. He has been president of the Canadian Society of Nephrology and co-founded the J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine, the MaRS Centre and the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

“There are few people who are more deserving of this honour than Dr. Stiller, a man who has dedicated his life to bettering the lives of others through medicine and innovation. It is my pleasure to congratulate him on receiving this honour,” says Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of OICR.

As a scientist, Stiller was principal investigator on the Canadian multi-centre study that established the effectiveness of Cyclosporine in transplantation, which led to its worldwide use as first-line therapy for transplant rejection. He has published 265 scientific and medical papers, co-edited five books and authored Lifegifts, a book about organ transplantation.

Dr. Stiller is also an entrepreneur and businessperson. He founded two firms that eventually employed 4,000 people in health care and technology services, which were later sold and taken public. He established four venture capital funds to invest in innovation, including the largest life sciences fund in Canada. He has also founded three companies that have provided seed funding for 50 technologies and created over a quarter of a billion dollars in economic activity.

The honorary degree from the University of Western Ontario adds to a long list of awards bestowed on Dr. Stiller, including honorary degrees from McMaster University and the University of Saskatchewan, the first President’s Merit Award of the Medical Research Council of Canada in 1995, Ontario Entrepreneur of the Year (Supporter of Entrepreneurship) in 1996 and the Toronto Biotechnology Initiative Community Service Award and the Distinguished Service Award of the Friends of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in 2002. He is a recipient of the Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada.