Lynne Selwood FRSV (née Bedford) is an Australian reproductive biologist whose work focuses on

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

s. In 2010 she began a three-year term as the first woman president of the

Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in the state of Victoria in Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being ''The Philosophical Society of Victoria'' (fou ...

Education and career

Selwood was educated at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, graduating with a BSc in 1960 and an MSc in 1963 for her thesis "Histological and cytochemical studies on development in '' Bembecium nanum'' (

Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolog ...

) (Gastropoda Littorinidae)". She then completed a PhD on "Oogenesis in the chiton ''Sypharochiton septentriones'' (Mollusca, Polyplacophora)" in 1967. She worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of New South Wales from 1967 to 1970 before moving to London from 1972 to 1974. Back in Australia from 1974, Selwood has held teaching and research positions at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

and

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

. Most recently, she has been at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

where, as of she is an honorary professor. Selwood was a member of the Council of the Royal Society of Victoria and, in 2010, was the first woman to be elected president since its inauguration in 1854. she serves as a trustee of the Society. Annoyed that possums were eating her garden, Selwood developed a spray which, with assistance from the University of Melbourne, has been patented and commercialised and is now produced and sold as Yates Possum Repellent Spray.

Honours and recognition

Selwood was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the

2017 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

. She was elected a Fellow of the

in 2018. She received the Ellis Troughton Memorial Award in 2018 from the Australian Mammal Society for her lifetime of mammalian research and is an honorary life member of the Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selwood, Lynne Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Sydney alumni University of Melbourne faculty Officers of the Order of Australia Australian biologists Australian women scientists