The department of CMM is sad to announce the passing of Dr. Adolfo De Bold, Professor Emeritus) with the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. Dr. De Bold passed away on October 24, 2021 at the age of 79 years.
Dr. De Bold came to Canada from Argentina in 1968 for graduate studies at Queen’s University, where he earned a PhD in Experimental Pathology. He stayed on at Queen’s as a Professor until 1986 when he joined the University of Ottawa’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. That same year, Dr. De Bold became Director of the Cardiovascular Endocrinology Laboratory at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. In 2013, Dr. De Bold became Professor Emeritus in the departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. De Bold discovered that the heart secretes a cardiac polypeptide hormone called atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), previously unknown to the scientific community. This was one of the most significant discoveries in cardiovascular biology over the past 50 years.
Among many accolades, Dr. de Bold received the 1986 Gairdner Foundation Award for the discovery and characterization of ANF. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1992, and was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2014.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.