The Discovery of Insulin
In one of the most important advances in modern medicine, a team of investigators isolated and purified insulin in a building which stood on this site. On May 17, 1921, Frederick Banting, a young surgeon, and Charles Best, a recent graduate in physiology and biochemistry, began a series of experiments on pancreatic secretions in an attempt to find a treatment for "diabetes mellitus". Working under the general direction of J.J.R. Macleod, an expert in carbohydrate metabolism, they developed a promising anti-diabetic extract. James Collip, a noted biochemist, then increased the purity and potency of the substance. With the first successful clinical test of insulin on a human diabetic on January 23, 1922, Banting, Best, Macleod and Collip ensured prolonged lives for millions of diabetics throughout the world.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Toronto Plaques. Full page here.