Hilda Bruce

Biography

Hilda Bruce was born on 5 April 1903. She was educated at St Leonards School. In 1923, she began her tertiary studies at King's College for Women, where she received a BSc in Household and Social Science, and another in Physiology. In 1928, Bruce joined the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) at Mount Vernon, Hampstead. Her early research was dedicated towards the understanding of Vitamin D; she also jointly published the first article describing the breeding characteristics of the golden hamster. In 1933, Bruce was employed by the Pharmaceutical Society, where she continued her research on Vitamin D. In 1941, she was appointed to set up the Cod Liver Oil (Poultry) Standardisation Laboratory. In 1944, she returned to the NIMR, where she formulated specialised diets for laboratory animals.