John S. Colter Lectureship

 

Dr. John Colter John Colter is a member of an Alberta family that has distinguished itself in the academic and medical professions. Following a path travelled by many young Albertan scientists over a number of generations, he used a BSc in Honors Chemistry at the University of Alberta as a springboard to graduate studies. In John's case, he moved to McGill, where he obtained his PhD in 1951. John then developed an international reputation for virus research while on the staff of Lederle Laboratories and subsequently at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. A transforming event for the University of Alberta was his recruitment, in 1961, to head the Department of Biochemistry. John was eventually to serve in this capacity for twenty-six years, until his retirement in 1987. During this time, he built an outstanding department that has become recognized throughout the world of biomedical research.

Although he began his work here only in the early 1960s, John Colter was in many ways as much a pioneer as those who founded the institution more than half a century earlier. His insistence on the application of international standards of excellence served the Department, the Medical Faculty, and the University well, and continues to affect the courses of their histories. This Lectureship was created by his colleagues, former associates, and friends through an endowment that will allow for perpetual recognition of his vision and outstanding achievements.
In 1995, John Colter was honoured by the Alberta Science and Technology Award for Service to Science.
Distinguished Invited Speakers:
2018 Malcolm Irving
2017 Stephen Young
2017 Stephen Withers
2013 Michael James
2012 Salvador Moncada
2011 Lewis Kay
2010 Stewart Cole
2009 Joseph M. Metzger
2008 Randall T. Moon
2007 Bruce Spiegelman
2006 Cynthia Kenyon
2005 Eckard Wimmer
2004 John E. Walker *
2003 John E. Johnson
2002 Christian R.H. Raetz
2001 Thomas A. Steitz *
2000 Susan Lindquist
1999 Arthur Horwich
1998 Christopher Dobson
1997 Gottfried Schatz
1996 Anthony Pawson
1995 James Spudich
1994 Michael Smith *
1993 Richard N. Perham
1992 Lap-Chee Tsui
1991 Michael S. Brown *
1990 Johann Deisenhofer *
1989 Wolfgang K. Joklik
1988 Günter Blobel *
* Nobel Laureates