- Anne McLaren
Infobox Scientist
name = Anne McLaren
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birth_date = birth date|1927|04|26|df=y
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death_date = death date and age|2007|07|7|1927|04|26|df=y
death_place = flag|England
residence = flag|England
citizenship = flag|United Kingdom
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field =Developmental biology ,
Animalgenetics
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alma_mater =Oxford University
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footnotes =Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, DBE, FRS, FRCOG (
26 April 1927 –7 July 2007 Cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6281348.stm | title=Academic pair killed in car crash | publisher=BBC News | date=July 8 ,2007 | accessdate=2007-07-08] ) was the daughter ofHenry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway and Christabel McNaughten. She came from a family of industrial magnates known for their attention to Liberal politics andwomen's suffrage , but would turn her own intellectual gifts to becoming a leading figure indevelopmental biology . Her work helped lead to humanin vitro fertilisation (IVF) [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/09/db0902.xml Professor Dame Anne McLaren] (Obituary) The Telegraph, 9 July 2007.] . She received many honours for her contributions to science, including being made an officer of the Royal Society.Early training
She studied
zoology atOxford University , gaining entrance toLady Margaret Hall and obtaining an MA. Researching mite infestation of "Drosophila " underJ. B. S. Haldane , she continued postgraduate studies at Oxford, first underPeter Medawar on the genetics of rabbits and then on neurotropic murine viruses underKingsley Sanders . She obtained her D.Phil. in 1952 and married fellow student DrDonald Michie onOctober 6 ,1952 .Early career and married life
As a couple, McLaren and
Donald Michie worked together atUniversity College, London 1952–1955, and afterwards at theRoyal Veterinary College , on the variation in the number oflumbar vertebrae in mice as a function of maternal environment. Dr McLaren would later take up research on fertility in mice, includingsuperovulation andsuperpregnancy .Smith J. (2007) Prof. Dame Anne McLaren DBE FRS (Fellow-Commoner 1991) "Christ's College Magazine" 232: 112–114] During this period, three children were born to the couple:*
Susan Fiona Dorinthea Michie (b.19 June 1955 )
* Jonathan Mark Michie (b.25 March 1957 )
* Caroline Ruth Michie (b.1 August 1959 )However, the marriage ended in a divorce in 1959, and McLaren moved to the
Institute of Animal Genetics inEdinburgh to continue her research. The couple remained on good terms; Michie also moved to Edinburgh. The experience of raising children as a single career parent made McLaren a strong advocate for government assistance towardschildcare .Later career and honours
Dr McLaren spent the next 15 years (1959–1974) at the Institute of Animal Genetics, studying a variety of topics related to fertility, development and epigenetics, including the development of mouse embryonic transfer,
immunocontraception , and the skeletal characteristics of chimeras. In 1974, she left Edinburgh to become the Director of the MRC Mammalian Development Unit in London. In 1992, she retired from the Mammalian Development Unit and moved toCambridge , joining the Wellcome/CRC Institute, later theGurdon Institute . She was made a Fellow-Commoner ofChrist's College, Cambridge in 1991.In 1975, she was made a
Fellow of the Royal Society , and from 1991 to 1996, she held the position of Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, the first female officer in the society's 300-year history. In 1986, she was made a Fellow of theRoyal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for her pioneering work on fertility. In 1993, she was created a DBE. From 1993 to 1994, she was president of theBritish Association for the Advancement of Science . In 2002, she was awarded theJapan Prize withAndrzej K. Tarkowski for their contributions to developmental biology.Death
McLaren and her ex-husband Michie died in a car crash on July 7, 2007.
Trivia
* As a child she also appeared in the film version of
H.G. Wells ' novel "Things to Come ". [imdb name|id=0572196.]
* In her later life, she was a member of theCommunist Party of Great Britain [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2123287,00.html Letter: Donald Michie and Anne McLaren] (Obituary, comment)The Guardian , 11 July 2007.] , which made travel to the USA difficult for a while ["Int. J. Dev. Biol." 2001, vol.45, 477–482.] .
* Anne was a big fan of jam doughnuts, she would tell her grandchildren that they must be healthy as they were full of calories.References
Obituaries
* Azim Surani, Jim Smith: "Anne McLaren (1927 – 2007)." Nature 448, 2007, p. 764 – 765.
* Janet Rossant, Brigid Hogan: "Anne McLaren (1927 – 2007)." Science 317, 2007, p. 609 DOI|10.1126/science.1147801
External links
* [http://www.gurdon.cam.ac.uk/mclaren.html Research group homepage]
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p2404.htm#i24037 thePeerage.com]
* [http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/bms/medical/synopses/mcclaren.html Biographical interview]
* [http://www.ijdb.ehu.es/web/paper.php?doi=11417890 Tribute from her students]
* [http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/famousperson/mclaren/2598144 Obituary and Tribute]
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