Shirley W. Jeffrey
| Shirley Winifred Jeffrey | |
|---|---|
| Born |
4 April 1930 Townsville, Queensland |
| Died | 4 January 2014 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater |
University of Sydney King's College London |
| Known for | Discovery of chlorophyll c |
| Awards |
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal Australian Centenary Medal Shinkishi Hatai Medal Order of Australia (OA) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields |
Marine Biology Plant Biology Aquaculture |
| Institutions | CSIRO |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | S.W.Jeffery |
Shirley Winifred Jeffery (4 April 1930 – 4 January 2014) was an Australian marine biologist and naturalist, who researched biochemical separation techniques, specialising in micro-algal research; her discovery, isolation and purification of chlorophyll C allowed for the evaluation of oceanic microscopic plant biomass and photosynthesis. She was christened The Mother of chlorophyll c by one of her early mentors, Professor Andy Benson of the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego.
Jeffery was born in Townsville, Queensland as the daughter of Tom Jeffrey and his wife, Dorothea (née Cherrington). During her younger years, she did not have a particular interest in science, preferring "playing with animals and dolls and helped my mother in the kitchen and loved cooking". While studying at Methodist Ladies College in Melbourne in the early 1940s, she was inspired by a "most memorable teacher", Connie Glass, who led her to be interested in studying the natural world.
Dr Jeffery completed her secondary schooling in Sydney at Wenona, and completed a bachelor of science degree in 1952 and a master's in 1954 at the University of Sydney. She completed a doctorate in biochemical pharmacology in 1958 at King's College, London. Dr Jeffery returned to Australia in 1961, after completing her PhD to work at the Division of Fisheries and Oceanography at CSIRO; it was during this time she researched pigmentation in microalgae.
In 1965, she was aboard the maiden voyage of the scientific expedition on the Alpha Helix, the research vessel of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, which was coming to Australia to study the ecology of the Great Barrier Reef. Her research led to a sabbatical at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1973; during this period she met Australian biologist and future husband Dr Andy Heron.
Between 1971 and 1977, Dr Jeffery was a principal scientist at CSIRO's marine biochemistry unit, then a senior principal research scientist CSIRO Division of Fisheries and Oceanography (1977 to 1981) and then senior principal research scientist and then acting chief of CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research (1981–84). While at CSIRO she was in charge of developing the CSIRO's Collection of Living Microalgae (also known as the Algal Culture Collection). Her co-edited work Phytoplankton Pigments in Oceanography was published in 1996 by UNESCO.
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