Bluma Gorfinkel Tischler (June 20, 1924, in Baranavichy[1] – May 16, 2015 in Vancouver) was a Canadian pediatrician known for her work in treating phenylketonuria, including her role in the widespread implementation of the Guthrie test for detecting that illness.
After the war, she and Isaak continued studying medicine in Wrocław, but left Poland in the wake of the Kielce Pogrom,[1] pursuing their internships first in Munich,[3] then in Montreal.
[1] In 1978, Tischler received the annual research award from the American Association of Mental Deficiency.
[2] She also received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977,[3] and was named an emeritus professor of pediatric medicine at the University of British Columbia.
[4] Initially a staff pediatrician, she was eventually promoted to medical director; in this position, she screened the resident population for phenylketonuria, then divided the phenylketonurics into treatment and control groups, testing the therapeutic effects of special diets on them without either their consent or that of their parents.