Michael A Baker

Dr. Michael Baker holds the Charles H. Hollenberg Chair in Medicine as Physician-in-Chief at University Health Network and Professor of Medicine at University of Toronto.

Dr. Baker’s original research, over a 25 year period, has produced an important body of work that has improved our understanding of human leukemias and other cancers. His approach has been to combine fundamental observations in the laboratory with clinical studies to help explain some of the unique features of these malignant diseases. In a series of over 100 publications in leading science and medical journals, he discovered changes that were characteristic of leukemia cells, demonstrated how patients responded to these changes, and completed studies of treatment that helped lead to modern therapy for leukemia.

In recent years, Dr. Baker has occupied key positions in medical and research leadership in Canada. He has chaired cancer research committees for the Medical Research Council of Canada, the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, the Alberta Cancer Board and the National Cancer Institute of Canada. He served as President of the National Cancer Institute of Canada for 3 years and as a Board member of the Canadian Cancer Society for 5 years. He remains a Board Member of the Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation and Toronto Medical Laboratories.

In his life outside of medicine, Dr. Baker and his wife Barbara, a nurse and homemaker, enjoy travelling and sharing reading assignments for the neighbourhood book club. He and his brother Gerald, Head of Oral Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, have performed piano and vocal duets together for many years at fund raising shows. The Bakers’ son Jeffrey is a lawyer and violinist, married to Debra, also a lawyer, and their daughter Jillian is a pediatric hematologist, married to Victor, a family doctor. There are four grandchildren: Mara, age 5, Gabriel, age 3, Camilla, age 1, and Leah, age 6 months, who have yet to define their careers.

In 1993, Dr. Baker was one of the Canadians who was awarded The Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the
Confederation of Canada. In 2002, he once again received national recognition for his contributions in the form of The Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2004, he was named as the first Charles H. Hollenberg Chair in Medicine at University Health Network and University of Toronto. In 2005, he was elected as a Fellow of the prestigious Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.