Fonds F0073 - Dr. Robert Church fonds.

Robert Bertram Church was born May 7 1937 in Calgary Alberta. He received a Bachelor of Science in Animal Genetics and Physiology (1962) and a Master of Science in Animal Genetics (1963), both from the University of Alberta. His PhD on "Genetic and Biochemical Studies of Growth in Drosophila" was received from the Institute of Animal Genetics, Edinburgh, Scotland in 1965.

Before accepting a position at the University of Calgary in 1967, Church worked in the Department of Microbiology, University of Washington. Church held a number of positions at the University of Calgary including founding Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Biochemistry, Associate Dean (Research) and Assistant Dean (Medical Sciences) Faculty of Medicine. Church retired as Professor Emeritus of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 1992.

Church was also President of Church Livestock Consulting Ltd (1967-1992), and co-owner (with his wife) of Lochend Luing Ranch (1972-1992). He received Honorary Diplomas from Olds College (1997), Mount Royal College (1998) and a Doctor of Laws from the University of Lethbridge (1998). He served on several boards and committees and as a Past President of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. He was a Founding Member of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. He was a former member of the Medical Research Council of Canada and Chairman of the Alberta Science and Research Authority. Dr. Church received several awards and honours, including inducted into the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame (1991), recipient of the Alberta Order of Excellence (1993), named Chief Black Eagle of Treaty #7 Tribes (1990) and recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Medial (2002). Church published more than 200 papers in the scientific and lifestock-industry press.

Dr. Church died on September 6, 2019.