Robert Laing Noble (February 3, 1910 – December 11, 1990) was a

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physician who was involved in the discovery of

vinblastine Vinblastine, sold under the brand name Velban among others, is a chemotherapy medication, typically used with other medications, to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, bladder canc ...

. Born in

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, he received his M.D. from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 1934 and a Ph.D. in 1937 from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. In the 1950s he helped with the discovery of

vincristine Vincristine, also known as leurocristine and sold under the brand name Oncovin among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, Hodgkin lym ...

and

, widely used anti-cancer drugs. In 1997, he was inducted into the

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. In 1988, he was made an Officer of 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 1984, he was awarded the

Gairdner Foundation International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a ...

. He was a member of The Harvey Club of London, the oldest medical club in Canada. The Robert L. Noble Prize is named in his honour.

References

1910 births 1990 deaths Alumni of the University of London Canadian medical researchers Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Physicians from Toronto University of Toronto alumni 20th-century Canadian physicians {{canada-med-bio-stub