An icon in neuroscience
Dr. Barnett’s impact on medicine is immeasurable. He saved and improved the health of countless stroke patients and contributed immensely to the field of neuroscience at a time when few treatments existed for neurological disorders. Dr. Barnett is best known for directing many of the most important large multi-centered clinical trials in stroke, including the first randomized trial to show that aspirin prevents stroke. With support from the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Barnett also showed that a then widely used surgical treatment for stroke patients involving carotid artery bypass was less effective than good medical treatment. The study averted many unnecessary surgical interventions and informed new treatment strategies.