Our History

In the 1960’s, Alberta is bustling with excitement and opportunity for pioneers and innovators. It is also in the midst of a post-war baby boom. All levels of government struggle to deal with the many challenges brought by rapid growth.

In medicine, the Royal Commission on Health Services, also known as the Hall Commission, makes recommendations that revolutionize health services in Canada. Among the recommendations, it calls for the creation of four new medical schools to train more doctors across Canada, including one in southern Alberta. The provincial government approves plans for a medical school in a youthful and emerging University of Calgary in 1966.

A group of dedicated general practitioners bring specialty training in family medicine to Calgary. A three-year residency for certification in General Practice is piloted at the Calgary General Hospital, one of only two specialty of general practice training programs offered in North America at the time.

On January 11, 1967, Dr. William Cochrane, MD, is appointed the faculty’s inaugural Dean. The University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine admits its first students in 1970. Three years later they become its first graduating class.

In 2014, businessman Geoffrey Cumming provides the largest single philanthropic gift in UCalgary’s history to the faculty. His $100 million donation is matched by the Alberta government and the school is renamed the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM).

The CSM continues to be inspired by the pioneers and innovators of our past. We are guided by their vision of a medical school that is an essential part of the province’s advanced education and health-care system, and a leader in improving lives of southern Albertans and beyond.

1905 – Alberta’s Medical Profession Act passes after the province is established. Roughly 325 physicians work in Alberta

1954 – A group of general practitioners meet in Calgary to discuss founding a Provincial Chapter of the College of General Practice of Canada
1966 – A three-year residency for certification in General Practice is piloted at the Calgary General Hospital
1967 – Dr. William Cochrane is appointed Dean
1970 – UCalgary establishes its Department of Family Medicine and accepts its first class of medical students
1973 – The faculty’s first 32 medical students graduate
1975 – The Health Sciences Centre is built
1982 – Dr. Elizabeth (Betty) MacRae, Canada’s first female neurosurgeon, is appointed clinical assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences
1985 – Dr. John Remmers invents the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine, becoming the first to demonstrate that sleep apnea is due to a narrowing of part of the throat
1992 – Dr. Samuel Weiss discovers neural stem cells in the brains of adult mammals, leading to new approaches for brain cell replacement and repair
1995 – Dr. Merril Knudston spearheads the creation of a database called APPROACH for cardiac treatment as well as patient care and outcomes in Alberta
2006 – The Health Research Innovation Centre and the Teaching, Research and Wellness Building are built
2008 – Dr. Garnette Sutherland and his team use neuroArm, an image-guided neurosurgical robot, on a human for the first time in history
2010 – Dr. Mark Heard becomes the first to transplant live cartilage into a patient’s shoulder
2011 – Dr. Paul Kubes and his team make groundbreaking discoveries in visualizing the mammalian immune system, providing insights to better understand and treat immune-system diseases like sepsis, cancer and diabetes. Kubes is named Canada's Health Researcher of the Year by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the ‘exceptional impact’ of this work.
2012 – A study led by Dr. Francois Bernier identifies the gene responsible for Nager syndrome, a condition causing deformation and deafness in children
2012 – Dr. Steven Boyd demonstrates how high-resolution computed tomography scanners can identify bone micro-architecture, density and strength information, used to help predict bone and joint disorders such as osteoporosis
2013 – Dr. Thomas Louie discovers that fecal transplant pills are effective in treating C difficile
2014 – The faculty is named the Cumming School of Medicine in honour of UCalgary alumnus Geoffrey Cumming, who provides the largest single philanthropic gift in UCalgary’s history
2015 – A major stoke trial demonstrates how endovascular treatment (ET) can significantly improve patient outcomes after an acute ischemic stroke, dramatically reducing disability and death. The ESCAPE study results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine
2017—A Canadian clinical trial shows that minocycline, a common acne medication, can slow the progress of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in people who have recently experienced their first symptoms.
2017 – The International Microbiome Centre opens, designed to help with discoveries in disease prevention, obesity prevention, antibiotic resistance, food production, alternative energy sources and other areas
2017 – The school marks its golden anniversary, celebrating 50 years since it opened