‘His contributions have had a cumulative global impact on saving the lives of tens of thousands of people for decades’
WINNIPEG — The former scientific director of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory who had experimental brain surgery to battle alcoholism has died.“He was a scientific maverick,” Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, tweeted on Tuesday.
Prior to his time at the lab, Plummer’s research shaped public health policy around the world. He built a world-class research operation in Kenya, where he observed a particular group of women who had a natural immunity to HIV-1. That discovery provided important information for HIV vaccine and drug development.
Plummer was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006 and a member of the Order of Manitoba three years later. He received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career, including the Flavelle Medal from the Royal Society of Canada in 2018 for his contributions to biological science.
After the procedure he found he no longer craved alcohol, although he said he still had a bit to drink. “It got to be the main focus of my life,” he said. And so the scientist went in search of a more “robust” medical solution which he found at Sunnybrook.“My life is full of lots of other things than alcohol,” he said, adding he was writing a book and liked taking his dog out for walks and cooking.Keith Fowke, head of medical microbiology and infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba, said Plummer always wanted to help people.
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