Person

Freeman, Mavis (1907 - 1992)

Born
1907
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died
1992
Australia
Occupation
Bacteriologist and Biochemist

Summary

Mavis Freeman worked with Macfarlane Burnet during the 1930s and with Burnet succeeded in identifying the microbe responsible for Q fever. She served in the Australian Army Medical Corps during World War II and undertook research into safe methods for blood transfusion in malarial regions.

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Details

Worked with Macfarlane Burnet for over 10 years during the 1930s. Worked for the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research 1928-40 and 1946-48. She and Burnet succeeded in identifying the microbe responsible for Q fever. Member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) during World War II, ending the war as a Captain in the Australian Army Medical Corps. In the latter part of the war she undertook research into safe methods for blood transfusion in malarial regions.

Chronology

1928
Education - BSc, the University of Melbourne
1928 - 1940
Career position - Laboratory researcher, Walter and Eliza Hall Insitution of Medical Research, Melbourne
1934
Award - Travelling Fellowship, Victorain Women Graduate's Association, to sutdy at the Lisater Institute, London
1940 - c. 1946
Career position - joined the AIF serving in the Australian Army Medical Corp as a scientist
20 May 1942
Career event - Commissioned as a lieutenant and appointed as an assistant pathologist
c. 1946 - 1948
Career position - Returned to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
1948 - ?
Career position - Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, Adelaide
1950
Education - MSc, the University of Melbourne, on the denaturation of proteins

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

Articles

Resources

See also

  • Fenner, F., 'Frank Macfarlane Burnet, 1899-1985', Historical Records of Australian Science, 7 (1) (1987), 39-77. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9870710039. Details
  • Flesch, Juliette, 40 years, 40 women: biographies of University of Melbourne women, published to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the International Year of Women (Carlton, Vic.: University of Melbourne Library, 2015), 88 pp. Details
  • Kelly, Farley, 'Learning and Teaching Science: Women Making Careers 1890-1920' in On the Edge of Discovery: Australian Women in Science, Farley Kelly, ed. (Melbourne: Text Publishing Company, 1993), pp. 35-75. Details

Rosanne Walker

Created: 30 June 1997, Last modified: 13 June 2025

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