Victor Ling

Dr. Victor Ling, O.C., O.B.C., is President and Scientific Director of the Terry Fox Research Institute. He provides overall leadership of the Institute and oversees the development of translational research projects, relationships with stakeholders, and communications.

An authority on multi-drug resistance in cancer, Dr. Ling is well-known for his discovery of P-glycoprotein, the first molecule identified to be responsible for drug resistance.

A major focus of Dr. Ling’s research has been the investigation of mechanisms of drug resistance to anticancer drugs, particularly those mechanisms that involve alteration in the transport of such compounds. On-going research includes site-directed mutagenesis to specifically alter structure, purification and reconstitution of P-glycoprotein to investigate function and structural studies using biophysical techniques. At the clinical level, research is ongoing to determine if the P-glycoprotein mechanism may be manipulated to improve efficacy. His laboratory is also investigating the structure and function of the superfamily of P-glycoprotein-like transporter proteins, ABC transporters in various species. Dr. Ling’s work to date has been documented in over 200 peer-reviewed publications.

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1991), he is the recipient of many awards, including the Robert L. Noble Prize (1994), the American Association for Cancer Research’s Bruce F. Cain Memorial Award (1993), the Charles F. Kettering Prize (1991), the Dr. Josef Steiner Cancer Research Award (1991), and the Gairdner Foundation International Award (1990).