Dr. Nathan Kaufman | Pathology | School of Medicine

Nathan Kaufman was born in Lachine, Quebec and educated at McGill University graduating with a medical degree in 1941. He interned at the Royal Victoria Hospital and then served as a Medical Officer to a tank battalion in Western Europe and was honoured with a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). After 18 months as a pathology resident at the Jewish General he moved with his wife Rita to the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital to complete his residency. He then joined the Faculty at Case Western and quickly began a successful and satisfying career in iron metabolism research, medical education and laboratory administration. In 1967 after 7 years as a Professor at Duke University, he was persuasively recruited by Dean Harry Botterell to succeed Bob More as the Head of Pathology at Queen’s.

His accomplishments were numerous. They included the development of the NCIC Cancer Research Unit, recruitment and nurturing of faculty, distinguished service to senior committees of the Hospital, University and the Medical Research Centre (MRC), and expansion of the department’s scholarly productivity and residency program. During his 12 years at Queen’s, Dr. Kaufman became internationally recognized for his distinguished leadership as Editor of Laboratory Investigation, President of the US-Canadian Academy of Pathology and the International Academy of Pathology. After Queen’s, he moved to Augusta as the first full-time secretary/treasurer of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP). He was recognized by the USCAP for his contributions, including the annual Nathan Kaufman Timely Topics Lecture.

Through this lectureship, the department honours Nathan Kaufman’s extraordinary influence in shaping the scholarly life of our department and his contribution to our specialty internationally.