Patricia Ann Baird, (born 11 October 1937) is a British medical geneticist active in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Her research has specialized on the relationship between medical technology and ethics.

Early life and education

Patricia Baird was born in Littleborough,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the daughter of Harold and Winifred Cainen Holt. She was educated at the Queen Mary School for Girls in

Lytham Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population of the built-up area at the 2021 United Kingdom census, ...

, Lancashire. She emigrated to Canada at the age of 17 and was accepted to McGill University. She received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in 1959 and a

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

, C.M. in 1963 from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Career and research

She is a University Killam Distinguished Professor Emerita, Department of Medical Genetics at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

. In 1978, Baird became the head of the Department of Medical Genetics, leading the department to become an internationally renown research institution. She was the first woman to both be named as chair of a clinical medical department and to be elected to the Board of Governors at the University of British Columbia. In 1991, she became Vice-President of the

Canadian Institute for Advanced Research The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) is a Canadian-based global research organization that brings together teams of top researchers from around the world to address important and complex questions. It was founded in 1982 and is su ...

. In 1989, she became the chair of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies.

Honours and awards

In 1992, Baird was recognized as a Member of the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administe ...

. In 2000, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in recognition for being "a contributor to science, public policy and the advancement of women". In 2001, Baird became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She was presented the

Cooper Ornithological Society The Cooper Ornithological Society (COS), formerly the Cooper Ornithological Club, was an American ornithological society. It was founded in 1893 in California and operated until 2016. Its name commemorated James Graham Cooper, an early California ...

Harry R. Painton Award in 2013, along with her co-authors Hope M. Draheim and Susan M. Haig, for their paper entitled “Temporal analysis of

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the DNA contained in ...

variation reveals decreased

genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It ranges widely, from the number of species to differences within species, and can be correlated to the span of survival for a species. It is d ...

in Least Terns” published in '' The Condor''.

Selected publications

* Baird, P. A., & MacDonald, E. C. (1981). An epidemiologic study of congenital malformations of the anterior abdominal wall in more than half a million consecutive live births. ''

American Journal of Human Genetics The ''American Journal of Human Genetics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of human genetics. It was established in 1948 by the American Society of Human Genetics and covers all aspects of heredity in humans, including ...

''. * Spouge, D., & Baird, P. A. (1985). Hirschsprung disease in a large birth cohort. ''Teratology''. * Baird, P. A., Anderson, T. W., Newcombe, H. B., & Lowry, R. B. (1988). Genetic disorders in children and young adults: a population study. ''

''. * McIntosh, G. C., Olshan, A. F., & Baird, P. A. (1995). Paternal age and the risk of birth defects in offspring. ''Epidemiology''. * Baird, P. (2002). Identification of genetic susceptibility to common diseases: the case for regulation. ''

Perspectives in Biology and Medicine ''Perspectives in Biology and Medicine'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1957. It publishes essays that explore biology and medicine in relation to their place in society. Authors write informally, presenting their "perspectives" ...

''.

Personal life

She married Robert Merrifield Baird in 1964. Together, they had three children, Jennifer, Brian and Bruce Baird.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Patricia 1939 births Living people English geneticists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Members of the Order of British Columbia McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni Officers of the Order of Canada People from Lytham St Annes Academic staff of the University of British Columbia British expatriate academics in Canada British women biologists British women geneticists English women scientists Canadian women academics 20th-century Canadian women scientists 20th-century British women scientists 21st-century British women scientists 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women scientists 21st-century English people 21st-century Canadian women scientists Canadian women geneticists Canadian geneticists