Dr. George Goldsand, the father of Infectious Diseases at U of A, in Alberta and in Canada

We feel the profound loss of a talented mentor and friend with the passing of Dr. George Goldsand.  He was the father of the Division of Infectious Diseases, here at the University of Alberta (U of A). 

In the late 1950s, the field of Infectious Diseases had not yet been developed in Canada, when George had graduated as a medical student from the U of A. Therefore, he moved to Pittsburgh to pursue training in this specialty. He returned to the U of A and the Department of Medicine with an arsenal of expertise and skills to establish the Division of Infectious Diseases in 1967.

Dr. Goldsand was also a founding member of the Canadian Infectious Diseases Society (CIDS) in 1976 and served as its second President. Significant effort by Dr. Goldsand and colleagues led to recognition of Infectious Diseases as a subspecialty of Medicine or Pediatrics by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Read more about his amazing work in 50 years of Infectious Diseases Research at UAlberta. You can also listen to Dr. Goldsand tell about his interesting journey to Canada as a young child.

Our heartfelt sentiments go out to the Goldsand family.