In Memoriam: Morley Hollenberg, Cumming School of Medicine

The Cumming School of Medicine sadly acknowledges the passing of a beloved faculty leader who was part of the school since its inception. Dr. Morley Hollenberg, MD, PhD, passed away on Mar. 15, 2025. He was 82.

Hollenberg, a molecular pharmacologist, served as department head of the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, from 1979 to 1989. Today the department is named the Cumming School of Medicine’s Department of Physiology & Pharmacology.

He was involved in teaching and research activities in physiology and pharmacology and the Department of Medicine for decades and served as co-director of the faculty’s Leaders in Medicine program. He received numerous awards for his contribution to medical science and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2011.

Hollenberg was born in Winnipeg to parents who were both physicians. He was a Rhodes Scholar who earned a Doctor of Philosophy in pharmacology from Oxford University in England. He then earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

An acclaimed painter, he also developed a deep interest in Chinese brushwork painting and shared his art at exhibits internationally.