Julia Levy (born May 15, 1934) is a

Canadian 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 ...

microbiologist, immunologist, educator and entrepreneur.

Early life and education

The daughter of Guillaume Albert and Dorothy Frances Coppens, she was born Julia Coppens in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. In 1940, her father sent her mother and his two daughters from their home in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Vancouver, British Columbia 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. The ...

, where he joined them at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

after he was released from a Japanese

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

camp. Her early education was in Canada. She studied

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see the ...

and

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a 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 among the top thre ...

, earning a BA in 1955. Levy received a PhD in

experimental pathology Experimental pathology, also known as investigative pathology, is the scientific study of disease processes through the microscopic or molecular examination of organs, tissues, cells, or body fluids from diseased organisms. It is closely related ...

from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1958. In 1959, she returned to the University of British Columbia as an assistant professor, later becoming full professor.

Career

Her research led her and her colleagues to participate in the development of

photodynamic therapy Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a form of phototherapy involving light and a photosensitizing chemical substance, used in conjunction with molecular oxygen to elicit cell death (phototoxicity). PDT is popularly used in treating acne. It is used cl ...

(PDT) initially for treating cancer but more significantly as the first medical treatment of one of the leading causes of blindness among the elderly, age-related

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

(AMD). In 1984, she joined the four founding members at biopharmaceutical company Quadra Logic Technologies (later QLT Inc.). The PDT drug Photofrin was approved by the Canadian government for treatment of bladder cancer in 1993. Subsequently, it has been approved in the United States and elsewhere for the treatment of several other types of cancer. In the mid-1980s she and colleagues discovered the PDT agent,

verteporfin Verteporfin (trade name Visudyne), a benzoporphyrin derivative, is a medication used as a photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy to eliminate the abnormal blood vessels in the eye associated with conditions such as the wet form of macular dege ...

, which QLT and its partner CIBA Vision (now Novartis Ophthalmalics) developed as Visudyne, a treatment for AMD. Visudyne was approved by the US

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

in 2001 and throughout the world thereafter. For ophthalmologists, this therapy added "a technique to their treatment armamentarium for some lesions for which there has been no other proven treatment." Initially Levy was Chief Scientific Officer of QLT, but from 1995 to 2001 she served as Chief Executive Officer and President of QLT. As a result of the success of Visudyne, QLT became one of the 21% of biotechnology companies that were profitable in the year 2000. She has expanded her methodology to treat

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

, arthritis and age-related

Honours and awards

Levy was named a fellow in the Royal Society of Canada in 1980, Pacific Canada Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 and an Officer in the

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 cen ...

in 2001. She has received the Future of Vision Award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Helen Keller Award for Contributions to Vision and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Columbia Biotechnology Association. She has also received a number of honorary doctorates from Canadian universities. The

Chemical Institute of Canada A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

awards the Julia Levy Award for successful commercialization of innovation in the field of biomedical science and engineering.

Personal life

She married Edwin Levy; the couple have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Julia 1934 births Living people Canadian immunologists Canadian microbiologists Businesspeople from Vancouver Canadian women in business Officers of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Scientists from Vancouver Singaporean emigrants to Canada Academic staff of the University of British Columbia University of British Columbia alumni 21st-century Canadian women scientists