Christopher Rutty, Health Heritage Research
Posted by Carol (Bieser) Hutchinson
on Oct 21, 2014
Guest Speaker for Friday Lunch, October 24, 2014, World Polio Day
Location: Fairmont Royal York - Upper Canada Room, 18th floor
Christopher J. Rutty is a Toronto-based professional medical historian in private practice with special expertise in the history of public health, vaccines and biotechnology in Canada. After completing a diploma in Classical Animation at Sheridan College, Chris shifted focus to science and the history of science and medicine at the University of Western Ontario during the 1980s. He then received his PhD in History from the University of Toronto in 1995 and focused his dissertation on the history of polio in Canada. He has since written and presented extensively about the history of polio and polio vaccines. The title of his presentation for World Polio Day is "The Middle Class Plague: Ontario and the Polio Years."
Since establishing his Health Heritage Research Services consulting firm in 1995 <http://healthheritageresearch.com>, Dr. Rutty has provided research, writing and creative services to a variety of clients, most notably Sanofi Pasteur Canada (formerly Connaught Laboratories), which is marking its centenary this year. A notable current project is managing the Sanofi Pasteur Canada Centenary Facebook page <http://facebook.com/SanofiPasteurCanada100>, which features many postings about the history of polio and polio vaccines.
Chris has also published histories of St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener, the history of the Canadian Nurses Association, and the history of public health in Canada for the Canadian Public Health Association.
He has also curated several historical exhibits, including on the discovery of insulin, the history of the Faculty of Medicine at U. of T., the history of public health teaching, research and public service in Toronto, and the history of vaccines and immunization in Canada at the Museum of Health Care in Kingston <http://museumofhealthcare.ca/explore/exhibitions/vaccines.html>. A central feature of the Kingston exhibit is an iron lung built in 1937 at the Hospital for Sick Children; an online version of this exhibit is expected to launch in late October.