Dr. L. B. Macpherson Award in Biochemistry

Lloyd Macpherson (1913 - 1988) was born in Annapolis Royal and spent his early years in the Annapolis Valley. He obtained his B.Sc. in biology and chemistry at Acadia University in 1934, and then moved to Toronto. He worked there as a Research Fellow at the Banting Institute, (the Department of Medical Research of the University of Toronto) from 1935 - 1939. In 1940 he joined the Canadian army. He served in England and northwestern Europe, rising to the rank of major and taking command of the No.1 Canadian Chemical Warfare Defence Laboratory, investigating the state of German chemical weapons and developing antidotes. In 1945, in recognition of his military service, he was made a member of the Order of the British Empire. He resumed his work at the Banting Institute, and obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1949.

Lloyd returned to Nova Scotia in 1952, as Assistant Professor of biochemistry. In 1965, he was appointed Assistant Dean of Medicine, and in 1971, Dean. He retired in 1976. As Dean, he was a calm, steady leader, adept at finding sensible, rational solutions to the wide variety of problems which came to his desk. He always took great interest in the personal lives of the medical students. Perhaps his most significant achievement during his years as Dean of Medicine was to bring students into the decision-making processes of the Faculty of Medicine.

Lloyd was awarded an honorary doctorate by Acadia University in 1973, and a second one by Dalhousie in 1981. Over the years, he suffered very considerable illness, which he bore with exemplary fortitude. He died in 1988, at the age of 74.

In his memory, the Department of Biochemistry established the L. B. Macpherson Award in Medical Biochemistry, awarded annually to the medical student with the highest standing in biochemistry, now in the biochemical component of the Metabolism and Function Unit of the COPS curriculum.

-- Christopher Helleiner

Until 2010, the purpose of the prize was to recognize an undergraduate student who has shown the greatest competency in the biochemistry component of the undergraduate medical curriculum. This award is named for a former Dean of Medicine who was especially beloved by students; his former students, as medical alumni, contributed to the fund. Dr. MacPherson taught biochemistry at Dalhousie for sixteen years and played a major role in the development of the Medical School. It has since evolved into a departmental seminar series.

The Macpherson Seminar Series was established in 2018 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Dalhousie Medical School and the 200th anniversary of Dalhousie University. The Seminars are given annually by graduates of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology who have distinguished themselves in their careers since leaving Dalhousie. The Lecture Series is named in honour of Dr. Lloyd B. Macpherson, a previous member of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University.

These are the past recipients of the Macpherson award.