Right Turn: Immortalizing excellence in stem cell research

Dr. James Till surrounded by bronze figures of Ernest McCulloch and James Till. By sculptor Ruth Abernethy

In some circles, James Till needs no introduction. Along with Ernest McCulloch (deceased), Dr. Till advanced medical research across the globe with the discovery of blood stem cells[1][2] at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital, now the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

Yesterday, outside the MaRS Discovery District in downtown Toronto, during a grand opening event for CCRM, a statue of Till and McCulloch was unveiled. The bronze statue is the work of Ruth Abernethy, a talented local sculptor. The sculpture was commissioned by Dr. Allen Eaves, a notable figure in his own right. On hand for the unveiling were Dr. Till, his wife and his adult children. It was a cool and windy day after the recent heatwave we’ve had in Toronto, but no one was in a hurry to go inside.

Enjoy some photos from this special day.

L-R Dr. Allen Eaves (STEMCELL Technologies), Ruth Abernethy, Dr. Michael May (CCRM)

Paparazzi

CCRM staff with Jim Till

The unveiling – note Dr. Till’s delight

Our regular feature, Right Turn, appears every Friday and we invite you to submit your own blog to info(at)ccrm.ca. We encourage you to be creative and use the right (!) side of your brain. We dare you to make us laugh! Right Turn features cartoons, photos, videos and other content to amuse, educate and encourage discussion.

As always, we welcome your feedback in the comment section.

[1] Till, J. E. & McCulloch, E. A. A Direct Measurement of the Radiation Sensitivity of Normal Mouse Bone Marrow Cells. Radiat. Res. 14, 213–222 (1961).

[2] Becker, A. J., McCulloch, E. A. & Till, J. E. Cytological demonstration of the clonal nature of spleen colonies derived from transplanted mouse marrow cells. Nature 197, 452–454 (1963).

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Stacey Johnson

Stacey Johnson is the editor of Signals and a contributor. For 25 years, Stacey has been providing strategic communications counsel to government, corporate, technology and health organizations. She began her career at the CTV Television Network and then moved to Hill & Knowlton Canada where she advised clients in a variety of industries and sectors. Stacey is the Vice President, Communications and Marketing for CCRM, a leader in developing and commercializing regenerative medicine-based technologies and cell and gene therapies. She has a Master's degree in Public Relations. You can follow her on Twitter @msstaceyerin.

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