The late Dr. Andrew Lazarovits was a professor of medicine, immunology and mircrobiology at the University of Western Ontario, the director of renal transplantation at the London Health Sciences Centre, and a scientist at the Robarts Research Institute.

He was awarded the Kidney Foundation of Canada's Medal for Research Excellence in 1997 for a breakthrough that may eliminate the need for transplant recipients to take anti-rejection medication.

Dr. Lazarovits and his research team made headlines around the world with their development of an antibody that targets and disarms immune cells responsible for organ rejection. The CD45RB antibody reprograms the immune system to accept transplanted organs without the need for additional immunosuppression.