Lionel Bradley Pett (12 November 1909 – 2003) was a Canadian

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and

nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disciplines. In many c ...

Academic career

Pett earned a BSA from Ontario Agriculture College, an MA and a PhD from

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

before an MD from the University of Alberta. He worked at the

and the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

before moving to the Nutrition Division of the Department of Pensions and Health in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario. After his death, the questions were raised about the ethics of post-war experimentation he carried out with

Frederick Tisdall Frederick Fitzgerald Tisdall (3 November 1893– 23 April 1949) was one of three Canadian pediatricians who developed the infant cereal Pablum. He first started working at The Hospital for Sick Children in 1921. In 1929 he was made Director of t ...

involving

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

communities. The experiments appear to pre-date the 1966 seminal paper by

Henry K. Beecher Henry Knowles Beecher (February 4, 1904 – July 25, 1976) was a pioneering American anesthesiologist, medical ethicist, and investigator of the placebo effect at Harvard Medical School. An article by Beecher's in 1966 on unethical medical exp ...

on the nature of

informed consent Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatme ...

and have become known as the

First Nations nutrition experiments The First Nations nutrition experiments were a series of experiments run in Canada by Department of Pensions and National Health (now Health Canada) in the 1940s and 1950s. The experiments were conducted on at least 1,300 Indigenous people across C ...

. Pett has been defended by his son.

Selected works

*
Early stages of carbohydrate degradation by bacteria.
' MSc thesis,

, 1932. *
The enzymatic breakdown of phosphoric acid esters.
' PhD thesis,

, 1934. * ''Vitamin Requirements of Human Beings'' Vitamins & Hormones Volume 13, 1955, Pages 213–237 * ''A Canadian Table of Average Weights'' Can Med Assoc J. 1 January 1955; 72(1): 12–14. * ''A Canadian table of average weights for height, age, and sex''

American Journal of Public Health The ''American Journal of Public Health'' is a monthly peer-reviewed public health journal published by the American Public Health Association that covers health policy and public health. The journal was established in 1911 and its stated missio ...

References

External links

google scholar
Academic staff of the University of Toronto 1909 births 2003 deaths People from Winnipeg Ontario Agricultural College alumni University of Toronto alumni University of Alberta alumni Canadian biochemists 20th-century Canadian civil servants Academic staff of the University of Alberta {{Canada-academic-bio-stub