Julia Bodmer

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Julia Bodmer
Imperial Cancer Research Fund
, London

Lady Julia Gwynaeth Bodmer (born Julia Pilkington; 31 July 1934 – 29 January 2001) was a British geneticist and trained economist. Involved in the discovery and definition of the

acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and cancer. As well as being a distinguished scientist in her own right, she collaborated throughout her career with her husband, the human and cancer geneticist Sir Walter Bodmer
. The couple had three children.

Early life and education

Born Julia Pilkington in Manchester, she was educated at

Lady Margaret Hall to read philosophy, politics and economics (PPE), specialising in economics and statistics.[1]
She met her future husband Walter Bodmer while they were both still at school and they married after graduation in 1956, after which she moved to Cambridge while he completed his doctorate.

Career

From 1956-59, Bodmer held a position as statistical assistant to the economist W. B. Reddaway at the

haematologist Dr. Rose Payne, and later in her husband's laboratory. With a strong statistical background and the ability to manage large and complex collections of data, Julia now moved to the field of HLA serology, collaborating with her husband and Payne. During this time, she worked on tissue typing and laid the basis for one of the first two genes of the HLA system.[3]

In 1970, the family returned to England and Sir Walter took up the Chair of Genetics at

Oxford University. Julia was appointed Research Officer in the Genetics Laboratory where she continued with her work on HLA disease associations and the population distribution of the HLA types. She was responsible for highlighting the association between HLA type and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis
in women, and helped establish the immunological basis of these diseases.

In 1979, the Bodmers moved to the

Molecular Medicine where they worked on genetic variation
in human populations.

Among her many professional activities, Bodmer served on various committees, including Chair (1992) of the Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Group of which she was a founder, and Secretary then President (1996–97) of the European Foundation for Immunogenetics (EFI). She also played an active role in the World Health Organization (WHO) Nomenclature Committee. She also spent time encouraging and welcoming new scientists to the field of Immunogenetics in her labs both in London at the ICRF, and later in Oxford.

References

  1. ^ a b Royal College of Physicians Munk's Roll, "Lady Julia Gwynaeth Bodmer". Retrieved 16 October 2012
  2. ^ Dr. Julia Bodmer, Curriculum Vitae.
  3. ISSN 0307-1235
    . Retrieved 2020-04-11.

External links
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