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Acknowledgements

Many people have contributed to making this book much better than it would otherwise have been.

Special recognition goes to the late J. Fraser Mustard, who died in November 2011 after a stellar career in medical research, research management more generally and the development of public policy, particularly in the realms of population health and early childhood education and care. He was a brilliant and innovative medical educator and the founder and first president of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), an international collaborative research centre without walls. Fraser’s energy and determination, coupled with his intellect and curiosity, sparked a career that earned him the rare distinction of being named a Companion of the Order of Canada. He is much missed by his many friends and supporters around the world.

Fraser was kind enough to read an early draft of this book in March 2010, but he didn’t just read the book and make a few comments! He summarized it in his own words, expressed strong and warm support, and added in a lot of judicious and helpful criticism – by far the most comprehensive and helpful commentary I received. With Fraser’s permission, a few of his words about the book are reproduced on the back cover.

Many others have provided less comprehensive but nonetheless extremely helpful commentary and analysis. I would particularly like to thank Valerie Dunsterville, David Gallop, John Helliwell, Richard Hooper, Bill McKerlich, J.B. Molson, Ian Robertson, Basil Rolfe, Arthur Scace, Mary Shakespeare, Lorne Whitehead, Jan Whitford and, of course, my wonderful family, with my wife Sidney at the head of the list.

Finding appropriate illustrations and gaining permissions to print them in a book can be a daunting task. I count myself particularly fortunate to have been able to track down an outstanding illustrator (and scholar) who encouraged me to draw on his vast store of bioscientific illustrations, hassle free. If you find that you appreciate his illustrations as much as I do, please join me in thanking Keith Roberts, whose artistic works are to be found in Dialogues 11, 13, 16 and 18.

Finally, I would like to thank my editor, Meaghan Craven, for her intelligent and diligent approach to editing the book. I can assure you that her attention to detail and thoughtful comments have done much to enhance the enjoyment of the reader.

In some circles, the offering of an apology in advance is viewed as a sign of weakness. I am not in that circle, at least in this instance. The writing of this book has meant that I had the opportunity to study many interesting fields of research in which I am not expert. Inevitably there will be some mistakes, some errors of omission and some misplaced emphasis.

I therefore apologise in advance for these transgressions. Should you detect any, please know that I would welcome any comments that you might care to make. Who knows, but there may be another edition which will afford an opportunity to make appropriate corrections.

Comments should be sent to: info@thedaveydialogues.com.

Thank you.