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Muriel Robertson was a alone to Ceylon ( now Sri Lanka) pioneering scientist who and Uganda for her research went against the grain in a into African sleeping sickness – male- dominated field. Born reportedly cycling through the in Glasgow in 1883, she was the forests for her studies – and finally seventh of 12 children to Elizabeth obtained her Doctor of Science in Ritter and her husband, engineer 1923.
Robert Andrew Robertson.
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Throughout her life,
Her ground- breaking work Muriel made a number on tropical disease helped of breakthroughs on how establish Glasgow as one of sleeping sickness was the world’s leading centres transferred and was one of the of research into parasitic diseases first women to be elected as a such as malaria and her work Fellow of the Royal Society in continues to inspire scientists 1947. During both world wars today. she made significant progress
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on identification of the types of Muriel studied at Glasgow Clostridium found in soil which University with male cause gas gangrene, a frequent students who refused cause of death among soldiers.
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to be taught alongside women. Initially, she completed a Muriel continued her Bachelor of Arts, which included research in Cambridge and zoology and botany as part of despite officially retiring in the curriculum. It was enough to 1948, worked at the Lister spark her interest and she received Institute in London until 1961. her first piece of research from her She was still lecturing at the age zoology professor while she was of 80 and died 10 years later in still a student. Muriel travelled 1973.
She was one of the first women to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1947