Herzberg Medal Awarded to David Dolphin

David Dolphin, chief executive officer of the British Columbia Innovation Council, is the winner of the annual Herzberg Medal, the highest honor awarded by the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada. The award is given to an individual who has demonstrated sustained excellence and influence in research for a body of work conducted in Canada that has substantially advanced the natural sciences or engineering fields.

Dolphin is an expert in porphyrin chemistry and biochemistry. His achievements include the discovery, development, and commercialization of Visudyne (verteporfin), the only current biopharmaceutical treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 50.

Dolphin, who was a 2004 ACS Hero of Chemistry, received the Herzberg Medal on March 22 during a ceremony at the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C.