Victor Ling, (; born 1943) 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 ...

researcher in the field of

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

. Ling's research focuses on drug resistance in cancer. He is best known for his discovery of P-glycoprotein, one of the proteins responsible for multidrug resistance.

Early life

Ling was born in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, China in 1943, and is of Teochew ancestry. He moved to Hong Kong with his family in 1949 and lived there until 1952, when they emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He graduated from North Toronto Collegiate in 1962. He received his bachelor's degree in 1966 from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

and his PhD in 1969 from 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 ...

Career

Ling undertook post-doctoral training with Nobel laureate

Fred Sanger Frederick Sanger (; 13 August 1918 – 19 November 2013) was an English biochemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice. He won the 1958 Chemistry Prize for determining the amino acid sequence of insulin and numerous othe ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

before returning to Toronto. He is currently Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the

and former Vice-President, Discovery at the BC Cancer Agency in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

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

, as well as the President and Scientific Director of the Terry Fox Research Institute.

Honours

*1990, awarded the Gairdner Award from the

Gairdner Foundation The Gairdner Foundation is a non-profit organization devoted to the recognition of outstanding achievements in biomedical research worldwide. It was created in 1957 by James Arthur Gairdner to recognize and reward the achievements of medical resea ...

for outstanding contributions to medical science *1991, awarded the Charles F. Kettering Prize *1991, awarded the Steiner Award, the highest honour in cancer research *1994, awarded the Robert L. Noble Prize by the

National Cancer Institute of Canada The Canadian Cancer Society (french: Société canadienne du cancer) is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada. History The idea to form the Canadian Cancer Society origin ...

*2000, appointed to the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier ...

*2006, awarded an honorary doctorate from

Trinity Western University , mottoeng = A Mighty Fortress Is Our God , established = Trinity Junior College (1962–1972), Trinity Western College (1972–1985), Trinity Western University (1986–present) , type = Privat ...

*2008, made an Officer of 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 ...

References

External links

Webpage at the BC Cancer Research CentreWebpage at the University of British Columbia Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
1943 births Canadian medical researchers Cancer researchers Chinese emigrants to Canada Living people Members of the Order of British Columbia Naturalized citizens of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Scientists from Shanghai University of British Columbia alumni University of British Columbia faculty University of Toronto alumni {{Canada-med-bio-stub