Charles Best (medical scientist) Banting and contributed to the discovery of the pancreatic hormone insulin, which led to an effective treatment for diabetes. In the spring of 1921, Banting travelled to Toronto to visit J.J.R. Macleod, professor of physiology at the University of Toronto, and asked Macleod if he could use his laboratory to isolate pancreatic extracts from dogs. Macleod was initially sceptical, but eventually agreed before leaving on holiday for the summer. Before leaving for Scotland he supplied Banting with ten dogs for experiment and two medical students, Charles Best and Clark Noble, as lab assistants. Since Banting required only one assistant, Best
Charles Best (medical scientist) Best, a Canadian politician and geneticist. He died on March 31, 1978 in Toronto, Ontario. Best is interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto (section 29) not far from Sir Frederick Banting. Best moved in 1915 to Toronto, Ontario, where he started studying towards a bachelor of arts degree at University College, University of Toronto. In 1918, he enlisted in the Canadian Army serving with the 2nd Canadian Tank Battalion. After the war, he completed his degree in physiology and biochemistry. As a 22-year-old medical student at the University of Toronto he worked as an assistant to the surgeon Dr. Frederick