Dr. Charles LeBlonde

"At the age of 20, I had my first course in histology; I enjoyed it and wondered about coming a histologist. Friends tried to dissuade me: "Histology," they said, "is a dead horse. The future is in biochemistry." I chose histology anyway, worked at it for 50 years, and never looked back. Many exciting things happened in the field during these 50 years: a revival of histochemistry, the birth of electron microscopy, and the flowering of radioautography-all powerful kicks for a dead horse."
-- C.P. Leblond. The Life History of Cells in Renewing Systems. Am. J. Anat. 160:113-158 (1981)

Dr. Charles Philippe Leblond, one of the most prominent members and distinguished past President of the Histochemical Society, passed away on April 10, 2007, at his residence in Montreal. Dr. Leblond started his research in France using synthetic radioactive isotopes to investigate the localization and distribution of biological substances in tissues and cells. However, his best work was accomplished at McGill University where he and his associates developed the technique of radioautography to locate radiolabeled molecules in tissues and cells. This procedure continues to be used today in a diversity of cellular and tissue systems and has been improved by molecular biologists to detect RNA molecules and to study the localization of genes and DNA sequences.

Dr. Leblond used radioautography to study the renewal and fate of cells as well as the localization and pathways followed by radiolabeled precursors. Contrary to the prevailing views, Dr. Leblond demonstrated that most cells and tissues in the adult body undergo continued renewal and that they synthesize different types of macromolecules. Another milestone accomplished in Dr. Leblond's laboratory was the refinement of radioautography and its application to electron microscopy to exploit the high resolution of this technique. Dr. Leblond was able to analyze intracellular pathways followed by radiolabeled aminoacids and carbohydrates. He was one of the first to identify the role of different compartments and subcompartments of the cell involved in the biosynthesis and secretion of glycoproteins. Throughout his illustrous career Dr. Leblond initiated numerous other projects involving immunocytochemistry, both at the light and electron microscope levels, which led to elegant results and important discoveries. These contributions resulted in the publication of 430 scientific papers, many of them still frequently cited. This is truly remarkable considering that papers in the field of cell biology are often outdated one or two years after their publication. In addition to his passion as a researcher, Dr. Leblond served as the head of the Department of Anatomy (now Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology) of McGill University for more than 25 years. During that time he developed one of the best international research centres in cell biology and he was the mentor of many prominent colleagues. His contributions to science have been recognized by the deserved receipt of numerous awards and distinctions.

Dr. Leblond was a Fellow from the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of Canada, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received honorary doctorates from Acadia University (1972), McGill University (1982), l'Université de Montréal (1985), York University (1986) and l'Université de Sherbrooke (1988). He was also Companion of the Order of Canada and Officier de L'Ordre National du Québec.

He, who has touched the life of many colleagues, former students, and post-doctoral fellows, will be remembered forever.

-- Carlos R. Morales

April 18th, 2007