Mary Frances Lyon
Mary Frances Lyon (born May 15, 1925 in Norwich , Norfolk , † December 25, 2014 ) was a British geneticist . From 1962 to 1986 she headed the section for genetics of the Department of Radiation Biology of the British Medical Research Council , and was particularly dedicated to the causes of mutations and questions of inheritance . In recognition of her research, she was awarded the Gairdner Foundation International Award and the Royal Medal and was accepted into the National Academy of Sciences .
Life
Mary Frances Lyon was born in Norwich in 1925 and graduated in 1946 with a BA from Cambridge University , where she also received her PhD four years later with Ronald Aylmer Fisher . After completing her doctorate, she worked in a newly established Institute of Animal Genetics by Conrad Hal Waddington in Edinburgh , where she was to investigate the genetic effects of radiation in Toby Carter's group . In 1955 she moved to the Department of Radiation Biology of the Medical Research Council in Harwell , England, together with Carter's group . There she headed the Genetics Section from 1962 to 1986. In 1990 she retired, but did research until the end.
Scientific work
Mary Frances Lyon's research interests were in the effects of radiation and chemical factors on mutations, as well as the fundamentals of mutation processes and their medical implications. Furthermore, she dealt with questions of inheritance based on research on mice . In 1961 she postulated the Lyon hypothesis, named after her, and thus the description of a process that is now known as X-inactivation . The formation of inactivated and compressed X chromosomes known as Barr bodies as part of this process is called lyonization in her honor .
Awards (selection)
- 1973: Admission to the Royal Society
- 1977: Amory Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1979: Admission to the American Academy of Sciences
- 1980: Admission to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1984: Royal Medal
- 1985: Gairdner Foundation International Award
- 1986: William Allan Award
- 1997: Wolf Prize in Medicine
- 2004: March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology
- 2006: Pearl Meister Greengard Prize
- 2007: Rosenstiel Award
- 2015: The British Genetics Society names an award after her, the Mary Lyon Medal
literature
- Elizabeth H. Oakes: International Encyclopedia of Women Scientists. Facts On File Inc., New York 2001, ISBN 0-8160-4381-7
- Louise S. Grinstein, Carol A. Biermann, and Rose K. Rose: Women in the Biological Sciences: A Biobibliographic Sourcebook. Greenwood Press, Westport CT 1997, ISBN 0-313-29180-2
- Sohaila Rastan: Mary F. Lyon (1925-2014). In: Nature . Volume 518, No. 7537, 2015, p. 36, doi: 10.1038 / 518036a
Web links
- Mary Lyon - obituary. Obituary in The Daily Telegraph, February 3, 2015
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lyon, Mary Frances |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British geneticist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 15, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Norwich , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 25, 2014 |