Jane Mellanby

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Jane Mellanby
Born14 April 1938
Sheffield, England
Died8 February 2021(2021-02-08) (aged 82)
Occupation(s)Neuroscientist, academic
Children4, including Edward Impey
ParentKenneth Mellanby
RelativesEdward Mellanby (uncle)

Jane H. F. Mellanby (14 April 1938 – 8 February 2021) was a British neuroscientist and academic. She was a doctoral student of biochemist Hans Krebs, and was a fellow at St. Hilda's College, Oxford from 1971 to 2006.

Early life

Mellanby was born in Sheffield, the daughter of entomologist Kenneth Mellanby and Canadian-born biomedical researcher Agnes Helen Nielson Dow Mellanby.[1][2][3] Her uncle was biochemist Edward Mellanby.[4] She read botany, physiology and chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford. In 1962, she completed doctoral studies in biochemistry at Oxford with Hans Krebs as her advisor.[5]

Career

Mellanby worked on tetanospasmin and botulinum toxins as a postdoctoral research associate at Sir William Dunn School of Pathology. In 1970, she and Larry Weiskrantz founded the Neurochemistry unit in Oxford's Experimental Psychology department. She was a Fellow at St. Hilda's College, Oxford from 1971. From 1977 to 2006, she was an Official Fellow in Experimental Psychology at St. Hilda's; she was also vice-principal of the college, from 1990 to 1996. In 2016, she was elected an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.[6]

Mellanby's research included a focus on temporal lobe epilepsy. She took a particular interest in secondary education and served as a governor of a local comprehensive school. She helped to develop the VESPARCH test for evaluating verbal and spatial reasoning skills in students, as director of the Oxford Group For Children's Potential.[7][8] She also studied gender differences in undergraduate science education.[9][10] Her research appeared in academic journals including Nature,[11] Neuroscience,[12] Journal of Physiology,[13] Journal of Psychopharmacology,[10] British Journal of Psychology,[10] Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education,[14] Higher Education,[15] Biochemical Journal,[16] and Medical Teacher.[17]

Publications

  • "Enzymic determination of d(−)-β-hydroxybutyric acid and acetoacetic acid in blood" (1962, with Dermot H. Williamson and Hans A. Krebs)[16]
  • "The equilibrium constant of the β-hydroxybutyric-dehydrogenase system" (1962, with Dermot H. Williamson and Hans A. Krebs)[18]
  • "Specific Precocious Protective Action of Toxoids" (1964, with W. E. van Heyningen)[11]
  • "The effect of tetanus toxin in the goldfish" (1971, with J. Diamond)[19]
  • "The effect of tetanus toxin at the neuromuscular junction in the goldfish" (1972, with P. A. Thompson)[13]
  • "A note on the specific fixation, specific deactivation and non-specific inactivation of bacterial toxins by gangliosides" (1973, with W. E. van Heyningen)[20]
  • "D-(–)-3-Hydroxybutyrate" (1974, with Dermot H. Williamson)[21]
  • "How does tetanus toxin act?" (1981, with Jane Green)[12]
  • "The effect of Ro 15-4513, an inverse agonist at the benzodiazepine receptor, on the exploratory response to novelty in the playground maze" (1994, with Briony Nicholls and Stephen Smith)[22]
  • "The 'gender gap' in final examination results at Oxford University" (2000, with Maryanne Martin and John O'Doherty)[10]
  • "Attitudes to e-learning, learning style and achievement in learning neuroanatomy by medical students" (2008, with Elena Svirko)[17]
  • "Deep learning questions can help selection of high ability candidates for universities" (2009, with Mario Cortino-Borja and John Stein)[23]
  • "Verbal and Spatial Analogical Reasoning in Deaf and Hearing Children: The Role of Grammar and Vocabulary" (2011, with Lindsey Edwards, Berta Figueras, and Dawn Langdon)[14]
  • "Trait anxiety and final degree performance at the University of Oxford" (2011, with Anna Zimdars)[15]
  • Education and Learning: An Evidence–based Approach (2014, with Katy Theobald)[24]
  • "Teaching neuroanatomy using computer-aided learning: What makes for successful outcomes?" (2017, with Elena Svirko)[25]

Personal life

Mellanby married zoologist and curator Oliver R. Impey in 1961. They had four children, including Edward Impey. She was widowed when Impey died in 2005;[26] she died from cancer in 2021, aged 82 years.[4]

References

  1. ^ Perring, Franklyn (11 January 1994). "Obituary: Kenneth Mellanby". The Independent. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  2. .
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  4. ^ . Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  5. ^ Oates, Tim (9 March 2021). "Professor Jane Mellanby 1938 - 2021". Cambridge Assessment. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Our Emeritus Fellow Dr Jane Mellanby, Hon FRCP, has died". St Hilda's College Oxford. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. .
  8. ^ “Academic Calls for More Complex Grammar on the Curriculum.” Education Journal, no. 376 (May 28, 2019): 11.
  9. ^ "Jane Mellanby". Oxford Neuroscience. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  10. ^
    PMID 10958580
    .
  11. ^ .
  12. ^ .
  13. ^ .
  14. ^ .
  15. ^ .
  16. ^ .
  17. ^ .
  18. .
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  21. , retrieved 8 December 2021
  22. .
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  24. OCLC 871820895.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
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  26. ^ "Oliver Impey". The Telegraph. 31 October 2005. Retrieved 8 December 2021.

External links