Connie Jean Eaves, CorrFRSE (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Constance Halperin; born May 22, 1944), is a Canadian biologist with significant contributions to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

and

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...

research. Eaves is a professor generics of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar worki ...

at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

and is also the co-founder with Allen C Eaves of

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958 June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east-to-west cross-Canada run to raise money ...

Laboratory (

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, Canada).

Education and career

In high school, Eaves was interested in becoming a physician but later decided to pursue into research due to gender discrimination in medical school acceptance rates. Eaves received a BA in Biology and Chemistry and in 1964 and 1966 an MSc in Biology (Genetics) working on oncogenic viruses from

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

. She then pursued doctoral training at the Paterson Laboratories of the

Christie Hospital The Christie Hospital in Manchester, England, is one of the largest cancer treatment centres in Europe. It is managed by The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital was established by a committee under the chairmanship of Richard C ...

and Holt Radium Institute and obtained a PhD from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

in Great Britain in 1969. She did postdoctoral work on hematopoiesis at the

Ontario Cancer Institute The Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI) is the research division of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, affiliated to the University Health Network of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. As Canada's first dedicated cancer hospital, it opene ...

in Toronto, Canada, as a member of the research team of James Till and Ernest McCulloch. After completing her studies, moved to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

because she was offered an academic position at the University of British Columbia. Her contributions to the professional and scholarly community include acting as the editor-in-chief of the journal '' Experimental Hematology'', in addition to serving as the president of the National Cancer Institute (Canada), the associate scientific director of the

Canadian Stem Cell Network Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

, and president of the

International Society of Experimental Hematology International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

Honors and recognition

* 1993, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada * 2003,

Robert L. Noble Prize The Robert L. Noble Prize (not to be confused with the Nobel Prize) is awarded each year by the Canadian Cancer Society to researchers whose contributions have led to a significant advance in cancer research. The prize consists of 2,000 Canadian d ...

for Excellence in Cancer Research from the National Cancer Institute of Canada * 2008, Donald Metcalf Lecture Award by the International Society for Experimental Hematology * 2011, Canadian Blood Services' 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award. * 2015, Corresponding Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

* 2016, Dr. Chew Wei Memorial Prize in Cancer Research from the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Medicine * 2018, American Society of Hematology's E. Donnall Thomas Prize * 2018, Tobias Award from the International Society for Stem Cell Research * 2019, Canada Gairdner Wightman Award2019 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award
/ref> *2021,

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

; Officer

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

She is also currently a Professor of Medical Genetics and an Associate Member of Medicine and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the

References

External links

List of publications available on PubMed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaves, Connie 1944 births Living people Alumni of the University of Manchester Canadian medical researchers Cancer researchers Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Canadian Fellows of the Royal Society People from Ottawa Queen's University at Kingston alumni Stem cell researchers Officers of the Order of Canada Scientists from Ontario