Born in Leeds, England, Professor James Shapiro earned his MD at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and completed his surgical training at the University of Bristol, UK. He moved to Canada in 1993, where he undertook a surgical fellowship in hepatobiliary oncology and multiorgan transplantation, followed by additional fellowships at the University of Maryland, Vancouver BC, and Kyoto, Japan. Joining the University of Alberta faculty in 1998, Professor Shapiro has since established himself as a leading figure in islet transplantation, notably leading the clinical team behind the "Edmonton Protocol." With over $65 million in research funding and numerous prestigious awards, including the Hunterian Medal and the Gold Medal in Surgery, he is recognized as one of the most influential personalities in the field. Currently, he serves as the Canada Research Council's Chair in Transplantation Surgery and Regenerative Medicine while continuing to focus on personalized medicine approaches to pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancers in his active research laboratory.