William A. Bridger Lectureship

 

Bill Bridger is a native of Winnipeg, who obtained a B.Sc. in Honors Chemistry at the University of Manitoba. Following a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the same institution, supervised by L.H. Cohen, he moved to University California Los Angeles (UCLA) for postdoctoral studies with one of the world icons of biochemical enzymology, Nobel Prize Laureate, Paul D. Boyer. During his time in Boyer's lab, Bill was beguiled by the enzyme succinyl CoA synthetase, and this complex protein became the major focus of his research, finally culminating with a full description of the enzyme's structure at the atomic level by X-ray crystallography thirty years later.
Bill Bridger joined the Department of Biochemistry at the U of A in 1967. He moved through the ranks to full professor (1977), spent 1984-85 as a visiting professor at the Rockefeller Institute in New York and in 1987 became Chair of the Department of Biochemistry. Six years later, Bill took on the role of Associate Vice-President (Research) at the University of Alberta and served in that position, whilst maintaining his research group, until January 1996, when he became Vice-President (Research) at the University of Western Ontario. In 2001 Bill became Founding President and CEO of the newly established Alberta Ingenuity Fund. In this capacity he played a key role in the Province of Alberta in the development of long-term strategies for knowledge discovery, and top-quality training of scientific personnel. He has also been active in national science bodies, including serving the Canadian Biochemical Society (CBS) as Secretary, Vice-President and then President. In 1980 Bill was the recipient of the Ayerst Award of the CBS, given for outstanding biochemical research, and in 1989 he was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Bill's career has demonstrated the highest levels of achievement in research, teaching and administration. To commemorate his many achievements, the William A. Bridger Lectureship in Biochemistry was inaugurated as an annual event in 2005.
Distinguished Invited Speakers:

2019 Dr. Russell Bishop
2018 Dr. Gary Shaw
2017 Dr. Brian Mark
2015 Dr. William Wolodko and Dr. Marie Fraser
2014 Dr. Wolfgang Schneider
2013 Dr. Robert Hodges
2011 Dr. Robert Ryan
2010 Dr. Randy Read
2009 Dr. Natalie Strynadka
2008 Dr. Brett Finlay
2007 Dr. Chris Rochet
2006 Dr. John Moult
2005 Dr. Susan Lees-Miller
Dr. Maureen O'Conner-McCourt
Dr. Hans Vogel