M. Daria Haust, a native of Poland, graduated summa cum laude from the Medical School of Heidelberg University (Germany) in 1951. After immigrating to Canada with her husband in 1952, she completed a rotating internship at the Kingston General Hospital in 1953. Following a year of atherosclerosis research with Dr. Robert More, she enrolled in the General Pathology Residency and Graduate School programs at Queen's. In 1959, she obtained specialty certification from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and an MSc-degree from Queen's.

Following a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric pathology with Dr. Benjamin Landing at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Dr. Haust joined the Faculty of Medicine at Queen's in 1960 as an Assistant Professor. She successfully nurtured two sons and embarked on a career in experimental atherosclerosis and pediatric pathology. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 1967, moving thereafter to the University of Western Ontario (UWO) obtaining full Professorship in 1968. She became a Fellow of the RCPSC in 1972. She remains active as a Professor Emeritus (UWO).

Dr. Haust has had a distinguished career in basic research in several areas including atherosclerosis, the process of elastogenesis, and the pathogenesis of several genetic diseases. She is a highly regarded educator and has played important roles in the establishment of national and international scientific societies, serving either as President, Secretary-Treasurer or as a member of the Council. She has also served on a number of Editorial Boards of scientific journals and has been invited to lecture around the globe on countless occasions. Her scientific contributions have been honoured by a multiplicity of distinctions (e.g. the Canada Council Killam Prize in Medicine; Gold Medal Award from the International Atherosclerosis Society; Honorary membership of the Academy of Sciences of Heidelberg; Best Teacher Awards at Queen's and at the UWO; the William Boyd Lectureship of the Canadian Association of Pathology; the Andreas Vesalius Medal by the University of Padua; Honorary Professorship of Medicine from the University of Chile, and many others). Dr. Haust's biography as one of the Founders of Pediatric Pathology appeared in 2001, and a Festschrift in her honour, with contributions from 10 international scientists, was published in a scientific journal in 2002. In 2004, she received the Distinguished Pathologist Award from the US/Canadian Academy of Pathology. Educational and/or research fellowships and awards named in her honour were established by the International Atherosclerosis Society; the CSATVB (formerly: Canadian Atherosclerosis Society); and the Department of Pathology at the UWO. She is the recipient of honorary degrees in medicine from three mediaeval Universities (Jagiellonian University, Krakow; Charles University, Prague; Havana University, Havana). In 2007, Dr. Haust's extraordinary career culminated with her appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2012, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Governor General of Canada.

Through this lectureship the Department honours Daria Haust's scholarly achievements, her contributions to her profession, and her continuing passionate devotion to our Department and to Queen's University.