Dr. Donald Low Remembered

Dr. Donald Low, who was a deeply respected leader at Mount Sinai Hospital has passed away.  Dr. Low recently retired as Microbiology-in-Chief at Mount Sinai, a role that he held since 1985.  He was an international authority on public health, emerging infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance whose work at the hospital has left a lasting legacy.  

Under Dr. Low’s direction, the Mount Sinai/UHN shared Department of Microbiology was created, and services expanded to ten health-care institutions. He played a vital role in Ontario’s management of the 2003 SARS outbreak, and in the revitalization of the Ontario Public Health Laboratory, which he led from 2005-2012. He was also the Head of the Division of Microbiology in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto.

“Dr. Low’s many friends and colleagues here at Mount Sinai are profoundly saddened by this loss, and will remember him not only for his many outstanding contributions, including the significant role that he played here at Mount Sinai and all of Toronto during the 2003 SARS crisis, but for his kindness, good humour and commitment to patient care,” said Joseph Mapa, President and CEO, Mount Sinai Hospital.

Dr. Low was a mentor to many in the microbiology field and to mark his retirement this past summer, the Dr. Donald Low Bursary for the Department of Microbiology was created with Mount Sinai’s Foundation to support fellows, residents, technologists and students to spend time in a microbiology laboratory for study or research.  To contribute to the bursary in Dr. Low’s memory, click here.