Dr. Frances Shepherd, Emerita Scientist at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) and Dr. Anthony Lang, Senior Scientist at UHN’s Krembil Brain Institute (KBI) are 2027 inductees of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame for their transformative work in lung cancer and movement disorders, respectively.

The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame inducts Canadians whose leadership, integrity, and contributions to health sciences, in Canada and around the world, have led to extraordinary improvements in human health.

Dr. Frances Shepherd | Emerita Scientist, UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Dr. Shepherd, an international leader in clinical lung cancer research, is also a Professor Emerita at the University of Toronto. Before her retirement in 2026, she held the Scott Taylor Chair in Lung Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and the rank of University Professor at the University of Toronto. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has led and collaborated on more than 100 clinical trials and authored over 650 peer-reviewed publications. Her work has reshaped standards of care and treatment for lung cancer worldwide.

Her research has focused on developing and evaluating combined treatment approaches, as well as new therapies for patients with both small cell and non-small cell lung cancer. She led a landmark international trial that demonstrated the benefits of the chemotherapy drug docetaxel for patients with advanced disease, improving both survival and quality of life and ultimately influencing treatment guidelines and drug approvals worldwide.

She also led a pivotal study showing that chemotherapy after lung cancer surgery could significantly reduce the risk of death and improve five-year survival, establishing a treatment regimen that remains the standard of care today. In parallel, she helped establish lung cancer tumour banks linked to clinical studies, creating an invaluable resource for advancing molecular research into the disease.

Dr. Shepherd also played a key role in the introduction of molecularly targeted treatments for lung cancer, demonstrating the benefits of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor erlotinib and helping to identify genetic markers associated with treatment response.

Dr. Shepherd has received many distinctions in recognition of her research achievements, including being named an Officer of the Order of Ontario (2007), receiving the Order of Canada (2016), the Gairdner Foundation Wightman Award (2018), and the Lifetime Contribution Prize from the Canadian Cancer Society (2022), among many others.

Dr. Anthony Lang | Senior Scientist, UHN’s Krembil Brain Institute

Dr. Anthony Lang is an internationally renowned neurologist and movement disorders specialist. He is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and also holds several distinguished appointments, including the Lily Safra Chair in Movement Disorders, the Director of the Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease, and the Director of the Rossy PSP Centre at UHN, and the Jack Clark Chair for Parkinson’s Disease Research at U of T.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has helped shape the global understanding and treatment of Parkinson disease and other movement disorders. He has authored more than 1100 peer-reviewed publications and is among the world's most highly cited researchers in the field, receiving the Highly Cited Researcher distinction from Clarivate.  

Dr. Lang’s research has focused on understanding how Parkinson disease and related movement disorders develop and progress, improving diagnosis and developing new treatments to slow the disease and manage its symptoms. He founded and serves as the Director of the Movement Disorders Clinic at UHN’s Toronto Western Hospital, which has grown into one of the leading centres of its kind internationally.

His work has contributed to the development of international guidelines for diagnosing Parkinson disease and identifying its earliest stages, helping pave the way for earlier detection and future treatments aimed at slowing disease progression. He has also advanced the understanding of related neurological disorders, including progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD), by helping establish diagnostic criteria that improve early and accurate diagnosis and support the development of new therapies.

In recognition of his contributions to neuroscience and Parkinson disease research, Dr. Lang was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2010. He has also received numerous national and international honours, including being elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada (2011) and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2011), the Weston Brain Institute International Outstanding Achievement Award (2018), and the University of Toronto Dean's Lifetime Achievement Award (2020).

As highly respected leaders in their fields, Dr. Lang and Dr. Shepherd’s contributions have had significant and lasting impacts on health.

Congratulations to Drs. Shepherd and Lang and all of the inductees!

See the full announcement here.