Brigid Mary Balfour (24 May 1914 – 1 March 1994) was a British scientist who studied cellular morphology and

ultrastructure Ultrastructure (or ultra-structure) is the architecture of cells and biomaterials that is visible at higher magnifications than found on a standard optical light microscope. This traditionally meant the resolution and magnification range of a co ...

in relation to

immune function The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...

. She advanced the study of

dendritic cell Dendritic cells (DCs) are antigen-presenting cells (also known as ''accessory cells'') of the mammalian immune system. Their main function is to process antigen material and present it on the cell surface to the T cells of the immune system. ...

s, realising that they were derived from Langerhans cells and played an important role in initiating and promoting immune reactions.

Early life

Brigid Balfour was born in 1914 in

St George Hanover Square St George Hanover Square was a civil parish created in 1724 in the Liberty of Westminster, Middlesex, which was later part of the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish accompanied the building of St George's, Hanove ...

, London to Hylda Snow (née Paget) and Archibald Edward Balfour, a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. Her maternal grandfather was Sir Richard Paget, a British politician and baronet.

Career

Balfour began her career at the National Institute for Medical Research working in nutrition, as part of the Division of Biological Standards in 1945. In 1957, she became a member of the newly formed Division of Immunology, under John Humphrey, working alongside

Brigitte Askonas Brigitte Alice Askonas (1 April 1923 – 9 January 2013) was a British immunologist and a visiting professor at Imperial College London from 1995. Education Brigitte Askonas was born to Czechoslovak parents, Jewish converts to Catholicism, wh ...

and Walter Brocklehurst or Brockhurst. She left the institute in 1978.

Awards

*Member, Royal College of Surgeons of England

Publications

* Dale E. McFarlin and Brigid Balfour – "Contact Sensitivity in the Pig", ''Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology''. Volume 29, 1973, pp 539–544. * Brigid Balfour, Jacqueline A. O'Brien, M. Perera, J. Clarke, Tatjana Sumerska, Stella C. Knight – "The Effect of Veiled Cells on Lymphocyte Function", ''Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology''. Volume 149, 1982, pp 447–454.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, Brigid 1914 births 1994 deaths British immunologists British women biologists English women scientists Scientists from London National Institute for Medical Research faculty 20th-century British medical doctors 20th-century British women scientists 20th-century English women 20th-century English scientists People from Mayfair