Head and shoulders image of Dr. John W. Gerrard, Head, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. John Watson Gerrard was born on 14 April 1916 in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). His father, Herbert Shaw Gerrard, was a medical missionary, ably supported by his wife Doris. Dr. Gerrard grew up in England and obtained his MD from Oxford University. In World War II he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in North Africa, Italy (Anzio) and Palestine. After the war Dr. Gerrard trained as a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital in Birmingham, England, joined the staff of the University of Birmingham, and undertook further studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In 1955 he moved to Saskatoon where he was founding head of the Department of Pediatrics in the new full Medical School at the University of Saskatchewan, where he remained head until 1971. As Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Dr. Gerrard continued to treat patients until well into his eighties. In 1962, along with Dr. Horst Bickel and Evelyn Hickmans, a biochemist, he was awarded the John Scott Medal by the City of Philadelphia for developing a low phenylalanine diet for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU). This, coupled with the work of Dr. R. Guthrie, who developed a test for the early detection of PKU, has enabled affected babies to be put on their special formula soon after birth and to grow up into normal children and adults rather than having an intellectual disability. In Saskatoon he campaigned with Dr. Alvin Buckwold and John Dolan for funds to build what is now known as the Alvin Buckwold Child Development Program. Over many years he taught hundreds of medical students and helped train over a hundred pediatricians. In 1985 Dr. Gerrard received the Alan Ross Award from the Canadian Pediatric Society for his contributions to research, education, healthcare and advocacy for the health of children in Canada. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998. Dr. Gerrard died in Saskatoon in 2013 at age 97.