For the past thirty years, Dr. Hollenberg has provided leadership to academic medicine in Canada as a physician, educator, scientist, and academic administrator. A native of Winnipeg, he obtained his M.D. from the University of Manitoba in 1955. Following postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology at McGill University, Montreal, and Tufts University, Boston, in 1960 he joined the Department of Medicine at McGill University as a Markle Scholar in Medical Science. In this capacity, he played an important role in the development of McGill University Medical Clinic and the Research Division of the Department of Medicine at the Montreal General Hospital.

In 1970, Dr. Hollenberg was appointed the Sir John and Lady Eaton Professor of Medicine and Chair of the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, and Physician-in-Chief of the Toronto General Hospital, positions he had held for eleven years. During his tenure, he built the foundations for the Department's research enterprise, recruited a large cohort of clinician-scientists, and transformed the Department into one of flourishing scientific investigation. Today the Department ranks among the leading Departments of Medicine in North America.

In 1981, Dr. Hollenberg was appointed Charles H. Best Professor of Medical Research at the University of Toronto, and was instrumental in development of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre, an interdisciplinary focus for diabetes research. In 1983, he was appointed Vice-Provost of Health Sciences of the University of Toronto, and in 1991 he became President of the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, the largest organized cancer system in Canada. In this capacity, Dr. Hollenberg played a critical role in the formation of Cancer Care Ontario, which he served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 1997 to 1999.

At the National level, Dr. Hollenberg has served as President of the Canadian Association of Professors of Medicine, the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation and the Canadian Institute of Academic Medicine. From 1972 to 1993, he served the Gairdner Foundation as President and Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board.

Among Dr. Hollenberg's numerous honours are appointments as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and as an officer of the Order of Canada. He has been the recipient of Honorary Doctor of Science degrees from the University of Manitoba and McGill University.