MACLEOD, JOHN JAMES

MACLEOD, JOHN JAMES (6 Sept. 1876-17 Mar. 1935), head of the Physiology Dept. at Western Reserve University and later awarded a Nobel Prize as a codiscoverer of insulin, was born in Cluny, Scotland, to Rev. Robert and Jane (McWalter) MacLeod. He received a medical degree with honors from Marischal College in Aberdeen in 1898. After further study in Leipzig, he returned to England, where from 1900-03 he taught physiology and biochemistry at London Hospital Medical School. In 1903 he was appointed professor of physiology at WRU. While at WRU, MacLeod began research on the pathology of diabetes. His research and publications on diabetes and other subjects helped establish the reputation of the medical school. In 1918, MacLeod became professor of physiology at the University of Toronto, where he continued his work on diabetes. His collaboration with Dr. F. G. Banting led within a few years to the discovery of insulin. As a result, the two men were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1922. MacLeod returned to Scotland in 1928 to become Regius Professor of Physiology at Marischal College. His last visit to Cleveland was in 1926.

MacLeod married Mary Watson McWalter in July 1903. They had no children. He died in Aberdeen, Scotland and was buried there.


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