| Authorised form of name | Sanger; Ruth Ann (1918 - 2001); immunogeneticist and serologist |
| Dates | 1918 - 2001 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Southport, Queensland, Australia |
| Date of birth | 06 June 1918 |
| Place of death | The Pines nursing home, Putney, London |
| Date of death | 04 June 2001 |
| Occupation | Immunogeneticist and serologist |
| Research field | Genetics |
| Serology |
| Immunogenetics |
| Activity | Education:
Abbotsleigh School, Sydney; Sydney University; University of London PhD (1948).
Career:
Haematologist at the Red Cross blood transfusion service, in the blood-grouping laboratory, Sydney (1940-1946); came to England to work in Medical Research Council Blood Group Unit, of the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, with Robert Russell Race (FRS 1952) (1948); succeeded Race as director (1973-1983); retired (1983); focused on co-authoring scientific papers with Race (1984).
Medals/Awards:
Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award, USA (1957), joint with Race
Philip Levine Award, USA (1970), joint with Race
Gairdner Foundation International Award (1972, Canada), joint with Race
Oliver Memorial Award from the British Red Cross (1973) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 16/03/1972 |
| Age at election | 53 |
| Proposer | Charles Edmund Ford |
| Harry Harris |
| Ralph Ambrose Kekwick |
| Roberts |
| Arthur Ernest Mourant |
| Philip MacDonald Sheppard |
| David John Finney |
| Winifred May Watkins |
| Rupert Billingham |
| Lionel Sharples Penrose |
| Walter Thomas Morgan |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council: 1977-1978 |
| Relationships | Parents: Revd Hubert (Tom) Sanger, headmaster of Armidale School, New South Wales, and Katharine, née Cameron.
Cousin: Fred Sanger, biochemist (FRS 1954).
Spouse: Robert Russell Race (1956-1984), human geneticist. (m. 6 April 1956). |
| PublishedWorks | RCN R77943
RCN 20224
RCN 20225
RCN 20226
RCN 20227
RCN 20228
RCN 20229 |
| OtherInfo | Distinguished for her work on human red cell antigens.
Discovered that the antigens Tj-a and P-k belong to the P system (which until then was thought a simple one), and ideas about it, consequently had to be completely changed.
She was the first to perceive that the antigen called X-g-a was X-linked.
Her work is largely responsible for the emergence of a map of genes located on the X-chromosome and for new insight into chromosomal mechanisms behind abnormalities of sex, such as those described by Turner and by Klinefelter.
The Australian Society of Blood Transfusion established the annual Ruth Sanger oration in her honour (1990). |
| Royal Society Obituary or Memoir | Click to view (may be contained within a meeting notice, presidential address or list of death notices) |
| Source | DNB
Obituaries:
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 2003 vol 49 pp 461-474, plate, by Nevin Hughes-Jones and Patricia Tippett |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/34518059 |
| Code | NA7043 |