Biography

Dr. Eaves obtained a BA and MSc from Queen’s University and a PhD from the University of Manchester, UK followed by post-doctoral training at the Ontario Cancer Institute under Drs. Till and McCulloch. She joined the faculty of the BC Cancer Agency and UBC in 1973 and, in 1981, co-founded the Terry Fox Laboratory at the BC Cancer Agency with her husband.

Over the last 5 decades, she has led a research program that addresses fundamental questions about how human leukemias and breast cancers are produced. Her methods to detect, quantify and purify the normal cells in which these diseases originate are now gold standards used worldwide. More recently, her group has pioneered the creation of several models of de novo leukemia and breast cancer. She has published more than 500 papers and has a long track record as a scientific leader and devoted mentor of >100 postgraduate trainees from all over the world.

She has also been a lifelong contributor to the development of science policy and evaluation of research in Canada and abroad, and maintains an active role in editing and reviewing scientific publications. Her many awards include election as a Fellow of the Royal Societies of Canada, Edinburgh, and UK, induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, and receipt of the Canadian Robert Noble and Chew-Wei Memorial Prizes for Cancer Research, the International CML Foundation Rowley Award, the Stratton Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Society of Hematology, and the 2019 Gairdner Wightman award.