Hilda Bruce

Hilda Bruce
Hilda Bruce (1903-1974)
Born	(1903-04-05)5 April 1903
Died	11 February 1974(1974-02-11) (aged 70)
Residence	England
Nationality	British
Fields	Zoologist
Institutions	National Institute for Medical Research Pharmaceutical Society
Alma mater	King's College for Women
Known for	Discovering the Bruce effect

Hilda Margaret Bruce (5 April 1903 – 2 November 1974) was a British zoologist, best known for her discovery of the Bruce effect, a pheromonal behaviour observed in many rodent species. Her work on the control of fertility earned her the Oliver Bird Medal.

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 B.Sc. in Household and Social Science, and another in Physiology. In 1928, Bruce joined the National Institute for Medical Research 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.

From the early 1950s, Bruce turned her attentions towards sexual behaviour in rodents, particularly the Whitten effect. In 1959, she published her discovery of what is now called the Bruce effect, the termination of pregnancy following exposure to the scent of an unfamiliar male. Bruce retired from the NIMR in 1963, but continued part-time research, variously on nutrients, development and pheromones, at the Department of Investigative Medicine in Cambridge. She continued work at the Department until 1973. In her later years, Bruce largely used a wheelchair, having been afflicted with worsening rheumatoid arthritis since 1942.