Dr. James Hogg received an honorary degree from UBC in 2010. (Photo: Don Erhardt)
The Gairdner Foundation has recognized Dr. James Hogg with the Canada Gairdner Wightman Award, the premier honour for leadership in medical science in Canada.
Dr. Hogg, principal investigator at the UBC James Hogg Research Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital and an emeritus professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia, was selected for his research leadership in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
More than 700,000 Canadians have been diagnosed with COPD, an incurable disease that inflames the lungs and greatly affects breathing. Dr. Hogg has worked on COPD for more than 40 years and maintains an active research program focused on the inflammatory process in the lungs.
Recent research suggests a new direction, which could lead to a treatment capable of reversing destruction of lung tissue in COPD. Hogg’s work stresses the importance of finding a diagnostic before symptoms appear, which would lead to the prevention of COPD.
The Wightman Award is the latest in a series of honours Hogg has received. In 1992, he was elected to the Royal Society of Canada and he became an officer of the Order of Canada in 2005. In 2003, he was recognized with the prestigious American Society for Investigative Pathology Chugai Award.
Hogg was the first full-time professor based at St. Paul’s, giving the Pulmonary Research Laboratory an important link with the University of British Columbia. In addition to its research, the lab served as a diagnostic referral centre for lung disease in B.C. The lab quickly established itself as the focal point of research excellence in the area of heart-lung conditions. Today, it is known as the UBC James Hogg Centre for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research, named in his honour.
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Dr. James Hogg has been honoured with the Canada Gairdner Wightman Award for having “a greater influence on the medical community’s knowledge of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and asthma than any other individual worldwide.” (Photo: St. Paul’s Hospital)
Dr. James Hogg has worked on COPD for more than 40 years. (Photo: Don Erhardt)
Background | Gairdner Wightman Award
Quotes
Dr. James Hogg, Winner, 2013 Gairdner Wightman Award
Professor Emeritus, UBC Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Principal Investigator, UBC James Hogg Research Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital
“I was surprised and indeed dumbfounded when I received the news that I would receive this award. I am extremely honoured to have been chosen based on lifetime achievement and accept on behalf of the Canadian respiratory community. I hope it will draw attention to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as the enormous world health problem that it is. Canadian investigators have contributed many fundamental observations about COPD and hopefully this award will draw the public’s attention to this very important medical problem.”
Stephen J. Toope, President University of British Columbia
“Due to Dr. Hogg’s tireless dedication and continuing research, many sufferers of lung disease can literally breathe a sigh of relief. We are extremely proud of Dr. Hogg’s accomplishments and congratulate him on this well-deserved honour.”
Dianne Doyle, President and CEO of Providence Health Care
“Dr. Hogg built a centre for cardiovascular and pulmonary research at St. Paul’s Hospital known worldwide. He started with just one trainee and two principal investigators and, over three decades, grew the facility to more than 120 trainees and 30 principal investigators. We are lucky to have benefited from his vast knowledge, and the lives of patients around the world have benefited from his contributions to medical research.”
About the Gairdner Awards
Created in 1959, the Gairdner Awards are Canada’s only globally known and respected international biomedical prizes. Nineteen of the last 26 Nobel Prizes in medicine or physiology in the past 10 years have gone to past Gairdner recipients.
Established in 1976 in honour of K.J.R. Wightman, a Toronto physician and the second president of the Gairdner Foundation, the Wightman Award is given to a Canadian who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science.
About Providence Health Care
Providence Health Care is one of Canada’s largest faith-based health care organizations, operating 15 facilities within Vancouver Coastal Health. Guided by the principle, “How you want to be treated,” PHC’s 1,200 physicians, 6,000 staff and 1,500 volunteers deliver compassionate care to patients and residents in British Columbia. Providence’s programs and services span the complete continuum of care and serve people throughout B.C. PHC operates one of two adult academic health science centres in the province, performs cutting-edge research in more than 30 clinical specialties, and focuses its services on six “populations of emphasis”: cardiopulmonary risks and illnesses, HIV/AIDS, mental health, renal risks and illness, specialized needs in aging and urban health.
