Born: January 16, 1915, Toronto, Ontario
Died: March 17, 1998
Education: University of Toronto; University of California
Category: Basic Research

Douglas Harold Copp, with a scholar's gift and top marks in medicine at the University of Toronto, was able to continue his education on a fellowship at the University of California. By 1943, he had completed another doctorate, this time in biochemistry. Almost immediately he was recruited for the top secret Manhattan Project, through which the allies completed development of the atomic bomb. Dr. Copp's research centred on the effects of radiation on human bone marrow.

Following the war, he returned to teach at Berkeley, but a few years later, Canada called him home. He was invited to the University of British Columbia, where he became the first Head of Physiology at the new medical school. In 1961, his research into hormones led to the discovery of calcitonin, a hormone which regulates the level of calcium in the blood and is used in treating patients with bone disease. Dr. Douglas Harold Copp passed away March 17, 1998.