Elizabeth Margaret Forbes

Elizabeth Margaret Forbes (March 25, 1917 – September 20, 1999) was a Canadian radiologist. Forbes was the Chief of Radiology at Toronto's Women's College Hospital (WCH) from 1955 to 1975. She is remembered for co-authoring "one of the first Canadian papers on mammography" with WCH's Henrietta Banting.

Early life and education

Elizabeth Margaret Forbes was born on March 25, 1917, in Blenheim, Ontario. Shortly thereafter, she become a resident in radiology at the Strong Memorial Hospital in New York from 1953 to 1954. During her time at Women's College Hospital she co-authored a study, with Dr. Henrietta Banting, on the use of mammography as a diagnostic tool. Under her leadership, the WCH became the first hospital in Ontario to use mammography to detect breast cancer. In 1966 she was appointed as an associate professor in the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine.

During her career she was a member of several associations, including: the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Association of Radiologists, the American College of Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America, and the Toronto Radiological Society. In 1974 she was awarded a fellowship from the American College of Radiology, becoming the first Canadian women to do so.

Retirement Forbes retired as the Chief of Radiology of Women's College Hospital on January 8, 1975. She died on September 20, 1999.