Anne McLaren was the second Baron Aberconway’s daughter. She was born in London to a family that had homes in Bodnant, North Wales. She also received a Lady Margaret Hall zoology degree. She worked with JBS Haldane and Peter Medawar and received her DPhil in 1952.
Her thesis was about the murine neurotropic virus, which Sanders had studied. She also married Donald Michie in the year she received her doctorate. They worked together at University College London (1952-1955) as well as at the Royal Veterinary College (1955-1959). They were also interested in the “nature versus nurture” problem. They studied the effects of the maternal environment on the number and size of lumbar vertebrae in mice.
They became interested in embryo transfer and implantation and worked with me to show it was possible to culture embryos from mice in a test tube. After placing the embryos into the uterus of the surrogate mother, they were able to obtain live young. In 1959, Anne and Donald divorced. However, they both moved to Edinburgh. Anne continued her research on mammalian fertility and embryo transfer techniques, immunocontraception, and the mixing of embryos to create chimeras (organisms that are composed of multiple genetically distinct types of tissue). This was done at the Institute of Animal Genetics. Her 1976 book on chimeras is a classic in this field.
She was appointed director of the Medical Research Council mammalian developmental unit at University College London in 1974. There she discovered her passion for the differentiation of primordial mammalian germ cells. In 1980, she wrote another classic book on Germ Cells and Soma. She retired from the Medical Research Council, and became the principal research associate at Welcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, Cambridge. This position she held until her death. She was the author of over 300 papers during her career.
Anne’s work was often associated with ethical concerns. Her principal contribution was as a member the Warnock Committee. This white paper played a significant role in the passages of the 1987 Family Law Reform Act and 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. Anne was a member of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority that was established by this latter. Anne served on it for ten years. She was also involved in discussions about ethical issues in embryonic stem cell development and therapeutic cloning.
Anne maintained a casual, informal, approachable manner even after she gained a large international scientific reputation. Even the shyest graduate students and postdoctoral fellows were attracted to Anne’s visits to research labs. She would listen to the details of each student’s research project and offer valuable suggestions. She conveyed that research was fun.
Her hospitality was legendary, and many tourists to London stayed at her home. She was an avid fan of football and would not let anyone talk to her when there was an international match.
Anne was also an excellent communicator. Anne was a captivating lecturer who received many invitations to speak at international meetings. She was an excellent television host, and her thoughts were clearly expressed in clear English. Bertrand Russell was interviewed by her with ease. She also explained to me that we had successfully cultured mouse embryos and they had produced healthy offspring after being placed in the uterus of surrogate mothers.
She wanted science to be clear and concise. She would often end up with a simple statement like: “When an embryo is not in the body of a woman, genetics tells me that the father and mother have equal rights.” Women’s rights are paramount when the embryo is within the body.
Anne was a liberal in politics. Donald and Anne kept in touch with scientists behind iron curtains during the first stages of the cold conflict. They were denied entry to the US for a time, and they were eventually punished. When the US government asked her to give her advice on several committees including one related to Nasa, the barrier was finally broken.
Anne did not feel discriminated against for being a woman. She stated that she never considered herself a woman scientist when she was younger. We had our children and did the best we could. There was no statutory leave for maternity.
Numerous honours were given to her. She was made a fellow of The Royal Society in 1975, and a fellow of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1986. In 1993, she was awarded the DBE. She was president of the Society for the Study of Fertility and president of the Society of Developmental Biology. In 1993, she was also president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. From 1992 to 1996, she was also a fellow of King’s College in Cambridge. She was also a member of the European group of ethics, which advises the European Commission about the ethical and social implications of new technologies at the time of her passing. Her many awards included the Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society of London (1967), the Pioneer Award of the International Fertility Society (1988 with Donald Michie), and the Royal Medal of the Royal Society (1990).
On April 20, a symposium was held in Cambridge, attended by close friends as well as colleagues. It was organized to celebrate her 80th birthday. She was an inspirational colleague and was my dearest, most trusted friend.
While her marriage to Donald ended, she and her children remained close friends. She is survived by her son Jonathan, Susan and Caroline, as well as Chris, her stepson from Donald’s first marriage.
Mary Warnock wrote: Anne McLaren is the best person I’ve ever worked with. She was an invaluable teacher and guide for me and the other “lay members” of the 1982 government-established committee of inquiry to investigate the new technique of in vitro fertilization and related questions.
I learned from her what a true scientist is: vision, caution, enthusiasm, and strong demand for evidence. She was patient with both the slow progress of scientific evidence and the ignorance of her students. She was also an example of good sense. As our differences grew, our sometimes irrational fears increased and our deadline approached, she was a rock.
She described herself as an ethics ignoramus and was often amazed at the passions she elicited by her work with pregnant mice. Her judgment was always respected.
In the six years between the publication of our 1984 report and the incorporation of it into the legislation, we continued to work together. She always found time to speak to groups of students, MPs and members of local women’s institutes over those years. I found our double act to be not only informative but also a lot of fun.
* Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, the scientist, was born April 26 1927; died July 7 2007
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Anne McLaren, a prominent developmental biologist and embryo expert, was killed in a tragic accident on July 7, in Britain. She was 80.
Dr McLaren was travelling with Donald Michie (an authority on artificial intelligence, and robotics) when she was involved in a car accident. The Gurdon Institute at Cambridge University confirmed their deaths. This is where Dr McLaren did her fertility research.
McLaren explored biological and ethical questions about reproduction throughout her career. She called it “everything involved with getting from one generation into the next.”
1958. Dr McLaren, a University College London researcher, was able to take mouse embryos from mice and culture them for several days before transferring them into the uterus of another mouse.
This experiment was part of a larger one to test whether genetics alone could produce offspring or if surrogate mothers had any influence on the development of offspring.
They discovered that the surrogate embryos had a different number than their mothers. Dr Biggers, Dr McLaren and Dr McLaren concluded there was an unknown effect on embryos in the uterus.
Later, the work was used to refine techniques for human in-vitro fertilization. The research was also done by Dr Michie who was a geneticist at the time and Dr McLaren’s spouse. They separated in 1959.
McLaren continued her research on chimeras in mice by studying the existence of chimeras, which are individuals with two or more distinct genetic populations. Her influential book, “Mammalian Chimaeras”, (1976) was a study of the subject.
Brigid L.M. Hogan is a professor of cell Biology at Duke University and chairwoman in the department of Cell Biology. She said that Dr McLaren used chimeras as a way to ask fundamental and profound biological questions about how an organism’s sexuality is determined and how many cells are required to create a specific type of bodily tissue.
Dr McLaren received the Japan Prize in developmental biology in 2002 for her work using embryos and other chimeras in order to answer basic questions about reproduction and growth in mammals. Andrzej K. Tarkowski from Poland, also a scientist who studied mouse embryos, shared her prize.
Dr McLaren’s research led to her studying the reproductive cells (also known as germ cells) that make up sperm, egg, and their interactions with surrounding tissues. This work was also detailed in “Germ Cells and Soma” (1980).
She became more aware of ethical concerns associated with biological research, and she spoke about them on British ethics panels. Her stature grew further when she was elected president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (from 1993 to 1994).
Dr McLaren advocated for research on stem cells derived from adult embryos as well as lines derived from human embryos. She said that “maybe some diseases might benefit from one or the other.”
Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren was an undergraduate in Zoology at Oxford. In 1952, she received her doctorate from Oxford.
In 1959, she joined the Institute of Animal Genetics at the University of Edinburgh and continued her research there until 1974. Dr McLaren was then appointed director of the mammalian development section of the Medical Research Council in London.
She was elected to the Royal Society in 1975, and she became the first female foreign secretary of the Royal Society in 1991.
Dr Anne McLaren, a prominent developmental biologist and embryo expert, was killed in a tragic accident on July 7, in Britain. She was 80. married Dr Michie in 1952. Their son and their two daughters are survivors.
She addressed ethical concerns about stem cell research in 2001 in Nature journal: “Let a thousand lines of stem cells bloom, but let them bloom in full sight of all.”
Dr McLaren said that such bloomings would require a critical audience.
What is Anne McLaren famous for ?
Pioneering scientist who researched how embryos develop. Her research led to in-vitro fertilization (IVF), a technology that has allowed thousands to have children.
What challenges did Anne Mclaren face?
Anne McLaren, a Dame, died in a car accident on her way from Cambridge to London with Donald Michie. She was one of Britain’s most prominent scientists in the areas of mammalian reproductive, developmental biology, and genetics.
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