Audrey Cahn

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Audrey Josephine Cahn (17 October 1905 – 1 April 2008) was an Australian microbiologist and nutritionist.[1]

Audrey Josephine Cahn
Born17 October 1905
Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Died1 April 2008
Hughes, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
PartnerLeslie Cahn (m. 1930)
Children2
Scientific career
FieldsMicrobiologist, dietetics, nutrition
InstitutionsUniversity of Melbourne, St. Vincent's Hospital, Royal Perth Hospital, Australian Army Medical Corps
Signature

The daughter of Prof. William Alexander Osborne, professor of physiology, biochemistry and histology, and Ethel Elizabeth Goodson, a medical practitioner and industrial hygienist, she was born Audrey Josephine Osborne at the

Kraft.[3]

Life

After her B.Ag.Sc., Cahn completed a Hospital Certificate of Dietetics at the newly opened Dietetics Unit at

Australian Army Medical Corps she became Chief Dietician at the Heidelberg Military Hospital. By her discharge on 13 September 1946, Cahn had obtained the rank of Major. From 1947 to 1959, she was a dietetics lecturer at the University of Melbourne; from 1959 until 1968, when she retired, she was chief lecturer in nutrition and applied dietetics at the university.[1]

She was a founding member of the Dietetics Association. Cahn was among the first experts to recommend reducing fat intake and substituting

polyunsaturated fatty acids for saturated fats.[3] Due to her significant contributions to medicine, Audrey Cahn Street in the Canberra suburb of Macgregor was named in her honour.[5]

The research output of nutritional biochemist Cahn was well respected, having completed many studies in the field, including those undertaken during her time at the University of Melbourne from 1947 to 1968.[6] These studies were important in examining the physical properties and energy values of common dietary foods so that calorie tables could be compiled. With colleagues in the anatomy department, she participated in the 17-year longitudinal study entitled "Child Growth in Melbourne (1954-71)". The study found that Australian children weighed more and got less physical activity compared with their peers United States and Britain.[6]

Personal life

In 1930, she married Leslie Cahn, an architect, they had two children but the marriage ended in divorce.[2]

Audrey Cahn died in a retirement home in the Canberra suburb of Hughes at the age of 102.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Cahn, Audrey Josephine (1905–2008)". Encyclopedia of Australian Science.
  2. ^ a b Flesch, Juliet (December 2012). "The ones that got away" (PDF). University of Melbourne Collections (11).
  3. ^ a b c d "A scientist ahead of her times". The Age. 12 May 2008.
  4. ^ AWHF (3 February 2011). "Audrey Cahn". Australian Women's History Forum. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Public Place Names (Macgregor) Determination 2011" (PDF). Australian Capital Territory.
  6. ^ a b Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Cahn, Audrey Josephine - Woman - The Australian Women's Register". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
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