Hugh Robson MACDONALD

Dr. HUGH ROBSON MacDONALD Chavannes-le-Chêne, Switzerland 1946 - 2023 It is with great sadness that we announce Rob's sudden death on March 16, 2023, aged 76, during a difficult recovery from a broken pelvis suffered in a fall at home in December. Rob leaves behind his beloved wife, Lana; his sisters, Chris (John) and Kathy (Peter); his sister-in- law, Rita; and his many nieces and nephews and their families. Rob grew up in Willowdale. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.Sc. (1968) and went on to earn a Ph.D. in Biophysics (1972). Rob and Lana then moved to Switzerland for three years so that Rob could work as a Research Fellow at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research. They returned to Canada for two years when Rob took up an appointment as an Assistant Professor at Western University. In 1977, Rob and Lana moved back to Switzerland. Rob joined the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Epalinges, where he worked in increasingly more senior roles culminating in his appointment as the Director of the Institute in Epalinges and a Senior Scientist at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research. In 2001 Rob was recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by the Institute for Scientific Information. Rob wrote more than 300 papers that were published in peer-reviewed journals and then cited over 19,500 times by authors of scientific papers. Upon Rob's retirement in 2018, an international symposium was held to honour his ground-breaking contributions to cancer research over his 40 year career. Rob loved spending time with Lana traveling, enjoying fine food and wine, and sitting together in the garden of "Le Moulin" (the Mill) their country home in Chavannes-le-Chêne, Switzerland. A Celebration of Rob's Life will be held at Le Moulin later in the Spring. If desired, the family would welcome donations in Rob's memory to the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation in Toronto to continue Rob's lifelong work to conquer cancer.