Dame Julia Margaret Polak, (26 June 1939 – 11 August 2014) was an Argentine-born Polish

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

who lived in England. She was head of the Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, a centre for medical research she set up with Larry Hench, also from Imperial College, to develop cells and tissues for transplantation into humans.

Biography

Julia Polak was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, daughter of Carlos Polak, a judge, and writer Rebeca Mactas Alpersohn. Her family was Jewish, and had fled persecution in Eastern Europe. She was educated at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

, before moving to London. She was married to a fellow student, Daniel Catovsky, and had three children. Her grand-niece is American model and actress

Camila Morrone Camila Rebeca Morrone Polak (; born June 16, 1997) is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of actors Maximo Morrone and Lucila Polak; and was also raised in part by actor Al Pacino (who served as a parental figure during his long- ...

. Polak was one of the longest surviving recipients of a heart and lung transplant in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was her transplant in 1995 which caused her to change her career direction from

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

towards the newly developing field of

tissue engineering Tissue engineering is a biomedical engineering discipline that uses a combination of Cell (biology), cells, engineering, Materials science, materials methods, and suitable biochemistry, biochemical and physicochemical factors to restore, maintai ...

. She was editor of the journal, ''Tissue Engineering'', as well as a member of the MRC/UK Stem Cell Bank Clinical and User Liaison Committee and an advisor to the Science and Parliament Committees. She was recognized as one of the most highly cited and influential researchers in her field. Her work was recognized by the Society for Endocrinology, the International Academy of Pathology and the Association of Clinical Pathologists. She received funding through the Texas/United Kingdom Collaborative Research Initiative in Biosciences. Polak died on 11 August 2014, aged 75, from undisclosed causes.

Awards and honours

In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was made

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE) for her services to medicine. In 2004, she received the Ellison-Cliffe Medal from the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...

References

External links

Interview with Julia Polak''Creating a Company Based on University Research: A Case Study'' by Julia Polak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polak, Julia 1939 births 2014 deaths 20th-century British biologists 20th-century British medical doctors 20th-century British women scientists 21st-century British biologists 21st-century British medical doctors 21st-century British women scientists Academics of Imperial College London Argentine Jews Argentine pathologists Argentine women physicians British Jews British pathologists British women biologists Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Lung transplant recipients Physicians from Buenos Aires University of Buenos Aires alumni 20th-century women physicians 21st-century women physicians Heart transplant recipients