John Dirks Yoshinori Osumi Kenjiro Monji and D Lorne Tyrrell 20151029

David Lorne John Tyrrell (born 1943) is a Canadian physician.

Overview

Born on February 10, 1943, in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, he grew up on the family farm near Duffield and studied at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

. Tyrrell interned at the University of Alberta Hospital and then went on to earn a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

from Queen's University in 1972. He returned to Alberta in 1975 to train in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

. From 1982 to 1994, he was director of the Infectious Diseases division and later the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta. In 1994, he became dean of the faculty of medicine at the university. In 2010, he secured a large donation for the university which established the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology. Tyrrell's research into viral hepatitis lead to the development of the oral antiviral drug

lamivudine Lamivudine, commonly called 3TC, is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is also used to treat chronic hepatitis B when other options are not possible. It is effective against both HIV-1 and HIV-2. It is typi ...

. This treatment enabled the use of

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a Liver disease, diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for Cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and ...

s for persons infected with

Hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...

. In collaboration with Norman Miles Kneteman (University of Alberta, Department of Surgery), Tyrrell and his team contributed to the development of a mouse with a humanized liver to be used for testing drugs to treat

Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...

. He was named to the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2000 and became an officer in the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2002. Tyrrell became a fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

in 2004. In 2009, he was named chair of the board of directors for the Gairdner Foundation. Tyrrell was inducted into the

Canadian Medical Hall of Fame __NOTOC__ The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. It has an exhibit hall in London, ...

in 2011. He was a

Killam Prize The Killam Prize (previously the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Prize) was established according to the will of Dorothy J. Killam to honour the memory of her husband Izaak Walton Killam. Five Killam Prizes, each having a value of $100,000, were awa ...

winner in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrrell, D. Lorne 1935 births Living people Canadian infectious disease physicians Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Members of the Alberta Order of Excellence Officers of the Order of Canada People from Edmonton Queen's University at Kingston alumni University of Alberta alumni