Ruth Ann Sanger (6 June 1918 – 4 June 2001) was an Australian immunogeneticist,
haematologist
Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...
Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine
The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, informally known as the Lister Institute, was established as a research institute (the British Institute of Preventive Medicine) in 1891, with bacteriologist Marc Armand Ruffer as its first director, u ...
from 1973-1983.
She worked closely with
Robert Russell Race
Robert Russell Race CBE FRS FRCP FRCPath MRCS (28 November 1907 – 15 April 1984) was a British medical doctor and human geneticist. He was Director of the Medical Research Council Blood Group Unit, of the Lister Institute of Prevent ...
from the 1940s, and they married in 1956. They co-authored many papers after 1948, and co-wrote six editions of a leading work on
blood group
A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates ...
s, ''Blood Groups in Man'', which helped make blood transfusions safer. The book was known as "Race and Sanger", which were published between 1950 and 1975.
Education and early life
Sanger was born in Southport, Queensland, Australia and had four siblings. Her father, Rev. Hubert Sanger, became headmaster of Armidale School in New South Wales. She was first cousins with Frederick Sanger, the biochemist and two-time winner of the Nobel prize.
She received her early education in New South Wales at three schools: Harleyville Ladies College (1924–1926), New England Girls school, Armidale (1926–1927), and Abbotsleigh Wahrounga (1928–35).
She went on to receive a Bachelor of Science from Sydney University (1940), and earned a PhD from the University of London (1948).
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
in 1948 on the variety of blood group systems. She returned to Australia after receiving her doctorate, but then moved permanently to the United Kingdom in 1950 and remained at the MRC until 1973.
The first edition of ''Blood Groups in Man'' was published in August 1950, based on the systematic analysis of blood groups in her PhD thesis.
In 1973, she succeeded R.R. Race as Director of the Medical Research Council's Blood Group Unit at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine in London. She retired in 1983.
Honours and awards
* Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award, USA (1957), joint with R. R. Race
*Philip Levine Award, USA (1970), joint with R. R. Race
* Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) (1972)
*
Gairdner Foundation International Award
The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a ...
(1972, Canada), joint with R. R. Race
* Oliver Memorial Award from the British Red Cross (1973)
*Received an honorary Doctor of Medicine (MD (Honoris Causa)) from the Helsinki University (1990)
Her nomination for the Royal Society reads:
Personal life
Sanger married Race on April 6, 1956 following the death of Race's first wife.
Death
Sanger died in
Putney
Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ancient paris ...
in 2001 and had no children.
Selected publications
* Sanger, Ruth A. (1946-10). "The Incomplete Antibody : a Quantitative Aspect". ''Nature''. 158 (4014): 487–487. doi:10.1038/158487a0.
ISSN
An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...
1476-4687.
* Race, R. R.; Mourant, A. E.; Lawler, Sylvia D.; Sanger, Ruth (1948-06-01). "THE Rh CHROMOSOME FREQUENCIES IN ENGLAND". ''Blood''. 3 (6): 689–695. doi:10.1182/blood.V3.6.689.689.
ISSN
An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...
0006-4971.
* Sanger, Ruth (1955-12). "An Association Between the P And Jay Systems of Blood Groups". ''Nature''. 176 (4494): 1163–1164. doi:10.1038/1761163a0.
ISSN
An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...
1476-4687.
External links
The Robert Race and Ruth Sanger papers are kept at the
Wellcome Library
The Wellcome Library is founded on the collection formed by Sir Henry Wellcome (1853–1936), whose personal wealth allowed him to create one of the most ambitious collections of the 20th century. Henry Wellcome's interest was the history of me ...