Dr. Ross Petty, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Award-winning teacher, scholar, clinician, and researcher

Dr. Petty graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in 1965 then completed his training in pediatrics and pediatric rheumatology at the University of Michigan. After earning a PhD in immunology at the University of London in 1978, he taught at the University of Manitoba. In 1979, he moved to Vancouver to establish the pediatric rheumatology program at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Petty has taught postgraduate students from across Canada and around the world, including Dr. Peter Malleson from England, Dr. David Cabral of Australia, and Dr. Kristen Houghton of Halifax. These physicians elected to continue working with Dr. Petty and are members of the Pediatric Rheumatology team at UBC and Children’s.

Dr. Petty is the author of more than 200 original papers and book chapters, and the co-editor of the reference standard in the field, the Textbook of Pediatric Rheumatology, now in its fifth edition.

Dr. Petty has received the following awards:

• The Ross Award of the Canadian Paediatric Society for distinguished service to children (1995)
• Distinguished Rheumatologist Award of the Canadian Rheumatology Association (1997)
• James T. Cassidy Award of the American Academy of Pediatrics for excellence in teaching and patient care (2003)
• Distinguished Rheumatologist Award of the American College of Rheumatology (2005)
• Honorary Member of the German Pediatric Society (2005)
• Master’s Award of the American College of Rheumatology (2006)

Dr. Petty retired as the Head of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology in 2005, but remains an active member of the team. He also continues to lead ongoing research into the development and validation of classification criteria for childhood arthritis.