New Book Celebrates Aberdeen's Insulin Pioneer JJR Macleod
Aberdeen University Press launches a revised biography of JJR Macleod, aiming to restore the reputation of the Nobel laureate co-discoverer of insulin.
By Alasdair Buchan
••3 min read
AI
Generic image of a close-up of an old, leather-bound book with blurred gold lettering on the spine, resting on a wooden desk with warm lighting.
A new book celebrating the life of Aberdeen-educated Nobel laureate JJR Macleod, co-discoverer of insulin, has been launched by Aberdeen University Press.
The publication, titled 'JJR Macleod Co-discoverer of Insulin', aims to recount the complex story of insulin's discovery and to restore the reputation of Macleod, who spent his later years as Regius Professor of Physiology at the University of Aberdeen. The book is a refreshed edition of a 1993 work by diabetologist Michael Williams (1931-2022), with a new introduction by Dr Kenneth McHardy, a fellow Aberdonian and successor to Williams as a diabetes specialist.
Dr McHardy championed the revision project, which highlights that the realisation of insulin's clinical use was a team effort, with Macleod, a recognised world leader on carbohydrate physiology, at the helm. The new edition details interventions over recent years to restore Macleod's standing as a scientist whose work contributed to saving hundreds of millions of lives.
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"JJR Macleod Co-discoverer of Insulin tells the story of Macleod’s life and work and this new edition describes several interventions over recent years to restore his reputation as a scientist whose work contributed to saving hundreds of millions of lives."
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"We are delighted to produce this new edition of the biography as even in Aberdeen, the memory of Macleod had been eroded just as it has in Canada and around the world."
Macleod, born in rural Perthshire in 1876, was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and the University of Aberdeen. He led the four-man team that discovered the world’s first clinically useful insulin in Toronto in 1922. The following year, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology with colleague Frederick Banting, though Banting later claimed Macleod had stolen credit. Later interpretations have concluded that history underestimated Macleod’s contributions.
Professor Mirela Delibegovic, who leads the University of Aberdeen Cardiovascular and Diabetes Centre and holds the same Regius Chair of Physiology as Macleod, will attend the launch event. She stated her delight at the book's release, noting that Macleod's reputation was a factor in her own decision to join the University of Aberdeen.
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"I am delighted to see the launch of JJR Macleod Co-discoverer of Insulin, which will open up the remarkable life story of JJR Macleod to new audiences."
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"His reputation was one of the things which drew me to the University of Aberdeen and holding the same royal appointment he did as Regius Chair of Physiology is a true privilege."
The new edition is available as a free online publication or in paperback. The event will also include other diabetologists, scientists, and diabetes advocates, including John Otto, co-founder and chairman of the JJR Macleod Memorial Statue Society.
