Dora Lush
Australian bacteriologist (1910 – 1943)
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Dora Mary Lush (31 July 1910 – 20 May 1943) was an Australian bacteriologist. She died after accidentally pricking her finger with a needle which contained lethal scrub typhus while attempting to develop a vaccine for the disease.
Dora Lush | |
|---|---|
Lush in c. 1940 | |
| Born | 31 July 1910 Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 20 May 1943 (aged 32) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Citizenship | Australia |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne (B.Sc. 1932, M.Sc. 1934) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Bacteriology |
| Institutions | National Institute for Medical Research Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research |
Early life
Lush was born in Hawthorn, Victoria, the daughter of John Fullarton Lush, a clerk, and his wife Dora Emma Louisa née Puttmann.[1] She had two brothers, who served as officers in the Second AIF and RAAF during World War II.[2] She was educated at Fintona Girls' School[3] and the University of Melbourne, gaining a B.Sc. in 1932 and an M.Sc. in 1934.[1] She was an active sportswoman, being selected for the University of Melbourne's women's basketball team.[4]
Research
Lush worked at the National Institute for Medical Research, London, from early in 1939. She returned to Australia. Her work on the influenza virus was praised in 1940.[5] She worked with Frank Macfarlane Burnet at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne on a scrub typhus vaccine in 1942,[1] as scrub typhus was a serious health risk to Australian soldiers engaged in jungle warfare in the New Guinea Campaign during World War II.[6][7]
Death
On 27 April 1943 Lush accidentally pricked her finger with a needle containing scrub typhus while inoculating a mouse. There was no effective treatment at the time for this often fatal disease. She died four weeks later, on 20 May 1943.[2] Before her death she insisted that blood samples be taken from her to aid research.[1][7] Unfortunately, the researchers were ultimately unable to develop a satisfactory vaccine.[8]
Lush was cremated at Springvale Crematorium on 22 May 1943.[3] A memorial tablet was placed outside the laboratory where she worked at Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.[9]