Remembering Dr. John Bienenstock

It is with profound sadness that AllerGen shares news of the passing of Dr. John Bienenstock, one if its founding investigators, on July 25, 2022.

Dr. Bienenstock was actively involved in the development of AllerGen’s successful NCE funding application, its original Diagnostics & Therapeutics research team, and its Mind-Body Interactions & Allergic Disease research program.

He was an active AllerGen researcher from the Network’s founding in 2004 through to 2013 and served on AllerGen’s Board of Directors in 2006-2007.

“John was a dynamic individual who brought an enormous depth of understanding of the science underlying novel therapeutic approaches to allergic disease during AllerGen’s early years,” comments AllerGen President and CEO Dr. Diana Royce.

“His contributions to the field of allergy and clinical immunology research, teaching and patient care will be deeply missed. We extend our sympathies to his colleagues and family at this great loss,” she added.

Dr. Bienenstock was a visionary physician, scientist, academic and a leader at McMaster University. He retired as a professor in 1998 but continued working as a researcher and as director of the McMaster Brain Body Institute at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.

He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1992; a McMaster Distinguished University Professor in 1999; a member of the Order of Canada in 2002, and he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2011.

See a biographical overview and tributes from Dr. Bienenstock’s university colleagues; see the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame’s 2011 tribute to John Bienenstock.