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Women in Biochemistry: Background to Project

This Project aims to contribute towards the 2011 centenary celebrations of the Biochemical Society by offering an insight into the work and lives of women biochemists in Britain from the inception of the Biochemical Journal in 1906 to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Building on preliminary research by Robert Freedman, these pages give an introduction to the history of women in British biochemistry. To accompany these pages, we have compiled a guide to archival sources, an introduction to useful literature and a database summarising the publications and careers of women biochemists between 1906 and 1939. These can be downloaded from this website and we hope they inspire further research.

How and Why were Women Initially Excluded from Membership of the Biochemical Society?

Women's Contributions to the Biochemical Journal: Findings of a Survey, 1906-1939

Resources for Further Research: Guide to Archives and Bibliography

Biochemistry: A Fruitful Field of Work for Women?

Working Environments: the Cambridge Biochemical Laboratory

Acknowledgements: This research was funded by the Biochemical Society. We would also like to thank the Honorary Archivist of the Biochemical Society John Lagnado, and the archivists at the Wellcome Library, London.

Project undertaken by Professor Robert B. Freedman (Biological Sciences), Dr Vicky Long and Professor Hilary Marland. Pages authored by Vicky Long.

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Bio-femina, Brighter Biochemistry 

image courtesy of Wellcome Archive.