Henry J. M. Barnett

Henry Joseph Macaulay Barnett (February 10, 1922 – October 20, 2016), known by his colleagues and friends as "Barney", was a Canadian physician and  neurologist, a leading clinical stroke researcher as a result of being the principal investigator in several major  clinical trials. As a clinical scientist, he did pioneering research in stroke prevention, beginning with the use of aspirin.

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, he graduated from the University of Toronto Schools and received his medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1944.

He started to work at the University Hospital in London, Ontario and the University of Western Ontario in 1974.

Clinical Trials
Dr. Barnett published the results of his clinical trials in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Aspirin in Stroke
Aspirin had been used to prevent stroke since the 1960's but had not been scientifically proven to be effective in a randomized clinical trial. By inhibiting the enzyme cyclooxygenase, aspirin blocks the production of thromboxane in  platelets, potentially reducing  clot formation and preventing ischemic stroke. In 1978, Barnett published the results of his clinical trial demonstrating the effectiveness of aspirin in preventing stroke.

EC-IC bypass surgery
In 1985, he showed the ineffectiveness of then commonly performed bypass surgery re-routing blood flow from the extracranial to the intracranial circulation, thus saving patients from needless surgery by showing ineffectiveness of the surgical procedure in stroke prevention.

North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET)
He found effective in preventing stroke by another common surgical procedure, carotid endarterectomy, which removes atherosclerotic plaque from the bifurcation of the  carotid artery in the neck.

Honors and Awards
From its founding in 1986, he was the president and scientific director of Robarts Research Institute until his retirement in 1995.

In 1984 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 2003. In 1995 he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 2001 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario, and in 2012 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Oxford.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada's Henry JM Barnett Research Scholarship Award is named in his honour. He died in Toronto on October 20, 2016.