Dr. Phil Gold

Dr. Philip Gold, C.C., O.Q., M.D., Ph.D., is a pioneer in cancer research with nearly 50 years of clinical and teaching experience under his belt. As one of the most prominent clinical investigators in Montreal, Dr. Gold has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to bettering patient care through the development of innovative therapies. Dr. Gold’s early research led to the discovery and definition of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), the blood test most frequently used in the diagnosis and management of patients with cancer.

A Montreal native, Dr. Gold has never strayed far from home. After primary and secondary schooling in Montreal, Dr. Gold went on to McGill University and obtained his BSc in Physiology in 1957 before going on to receive an MSc in 1957 and PhD in 1965. He went on to train at the Public Health Research Institute of New York City in 1967–1968 as a Centennial Fellow of the Medical Research Council of Canada, then returned to The Montreal General Hospital, its Research Institute, and McGill University as an Assistant Professor of Medicine and a Medical Research Council Career Investigator.

In 1978, Dr. Gold became the first Director of the McGill Cancer Centre, which subsequently evolved into the first University-based Department of Oncology in North America. In 1980, Dr. Gold returned to The Montreal General Hospital as Physician-in-Chief and served as the Chairman of the Department of Medicine at McGill University between 1985 and 1990. In 1995 he stepped down from the position of Physician-in-Chief to become Executive Director of the Clinical Research Centre of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.

Dr. Gold has received numerous international awards and honors and has been elected to a wide variety of scientific organizations. He was named Companion of the Order of Canada, an Officer of the Ordre Nationale du Québec, a member of the Academy of Great Montrealers, and is also the recipient of the Gold Medal Award of Merit of the Graduate Society of McGill University. He is the recipient of such prestigious awards as the Gairdner Foundation's Annual International Award, The Isaak Walton Killam Award in Medicine of the Canada Council and the National Cancer Institute of Canada R.M. Taylor Medal. He has been elected to membership in the Royal Society of Canada, the Association of American Physicians and Mastership in the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Gold married his wife Evelyn in 1960. They have three children and five grandchildren.