Locksley McGann, PhD
BSc Physics (Co-op) ‘69, MSc Physics ‘70, PhD Physics ‘73
Emeritus Professor Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB
Dr. Locksley McGann is among the world’s leading researchers in cryobiology - the freezing of biological systems. This was his PhD research topic at the University of Waterloo and he maintained this focus at the University of Alberta as a faculty member.
His research successes include the development of one of Canada’s first clinical stem cell transplant laboratories where he served as Laboratory Director for 26 years. He developed Edmonton’s clinical tissue bank—the Comprehensive Tissue Centre—and served as Director for five years. For the Canadian Blood Services, Dr. McGann was a Scientific Advisor on the development of Canada’s National Umbilical Cord Blood Bank that cryopreserves stem cells for transplantation. In addition, he served as President of the International Society for Cryobiology, and is currently among the most cited authors in that scientific discipline.
His diverse contributions have been recognized with a QE II Diamond Jubilee Medal (Canada), Alberta Centennial Medal (Alberta), Excellence in Innovation (City of Spruce Grove), and Excellence in Mentoring (University of Alberta) where PhD students under his supervision have subsequently developed leadership roles nationally and internationally.