We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Michael McGuigan, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Toxicology from 2002 to 2009. Mike died suddenly and unexpectedly on 16 November 2018 in Toronto at the age of 74.
Mike earned his BA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and his medical degree (MD) from McGill University in Montreal in 1970. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1971 to 1973, just outside of Boston. He then completed a residency in Pediatrics and a fellowship Clinical Pharmacology at Harvard.
He served as Medical Director of the Ontario Poison Center from 1980 to 2001, where he was the sole clinician on call for more than a decade, serving a population of more than 10 million people. He was loved by his SPIs, trainees and other colleagues for his calm, easygoing manner, his warmth and wry sense of humor, and his willingness to dispense life advice to anyone who asked - in his office, over sushi or a drink, or at the back of a meeting room at NACCT (And let’s be honest: who isn’t fond of a middle-aged man with a black belt in Aikido who drives a Harley to work, occasionally showing up at the office fully clad in leather?).
Over time, Mike’s clinical expertise and mentorship helped spark a renaissance of clinical toxicology in Toronto, and then in Canada more generally. As his former trainee Margaret Thompson recounts: “As a resident in Emergency Medicine, I remember Dr. McGuigan coming to the bedside in the emergency department and teaching around the consults that we’d called to the Poison Centre. He knew everything about all things toxicological. I would listen in awe of his knowledge. Any question you asked, he knew the answer. No preparation, no ‘I’ll get back to you’.”
Mike’s contributions to toxicology extended well beyond Toronto. He served as president of the Canadian Association of Poison Control Centres from1982 to 1987 and was the only person ever to serve two terms as president of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, from 1990 to 1992 and again from 2004 to 2006. He spent his final 10 years of clinical practice as Medical Director of the Long Island Poison Center in Mineola, New York.
In his retirement, he continued as an Aikido instructor and volunteered at a local hospital with his therapy dog Calvin (Mike was especially pleased when Calvin was authorized to visit the pediatric ward). He drew joy from his family, particularly his wife and constant companion Kathleen, with whom he enjoyed many long-distance motorcycle trips.
Mike is survived by his wife, Kathleen West; children, Tobias (Kelly) and Nora (Yakos Spiliotopolous); seven grandchildren; former spouse Marcellina Mian; stepsons, Charles and Samuel Steven; brothers Robert (Julia) and James, and sister Kathleen (Pat), as well as two nieces and two nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Amnesty International or to a charity of your choice.