This tribute was submitted by Heather D. Durham, PhD, for whom Dr. Ecobichon was her postdoctoral supervisor at McGill University where she now is a Professor in its Montreal Neurological Institute. Dr. Ecobichon became a member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) in 1971 and was a long-standing member of the Neurotoxicology Specialty Section.
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Sadly, Don passed away on November 29, 2017.
A graduate of the University of Toronto, Don held faculty positions at the University of Guelph (1964–1969), Dalhousie University (1969–1977), and in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University (1977–1997). After retiring to Chaffey’s Lock in Elgin County, Ontario, with his wife Betty, Don continued to contribute as an Honorary Professor in the Department of Pharmacology/Toxicology at Queen’s University.
As an internationally renown toxicologist, Don made seminal contributions to understanding of the toxicity of pesticides, polychlorinated and polybrominated biphenyls, and their interactions with the body’s detoxifying mechanisms.
In addition to numerous original scientific publications, Don contributed several book chapters and books including Handbook of Pesticide Toxicology, Pesticides and Neurological Disease, and The Basis of Toxicity Testing. He was regularly consulted by industry, government agencies, and private individuals to provide his practical expertise and was very active in teaching and developing training programs in toxicology in countries around the world.
Don was very active in the Pharmacological Society of Canada, The Society of Toxicology of Canada, and SOT (USA). Of particular note, he served as Vice-President and President of the Society of Toxicology of Canada and was particularly known for publishing its excellent newsletter for 15 years.
As a toxicologist and as a person, Don Ecobichon has left an important legacy and will be missed. We will remember his wry humour and the twinkle in his eye.