Rosemary Jeanne Redfield is a microbiologist associated with the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

where she worked as a faculty member in the Department of Zoology from 1993 until retiring in 2021.

Education

Redfield completed her undergraduate degree in biochemistry at

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

. She continued her education at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

where she completed her MSc in 1980. Her thesis titled, "Methylation and chromatin conformation of adenovirus type 12 DNA sequences in transformed cells," dealt with the chromatin structure and SDNA methylation. Redfield received her PhD in Biological Sciences from Stanford University under Allan M. Campbell.

Research and career

Redfield completed

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

work at Harvard University with Richard Charles Lewontin and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine with

Hamilton O. Smith Hamilton Othanel Smith (born August 23, 1931 in New York) is an American microbiologist and Nobel laureate. Smith graduated from University Laboratory High School of Urbana, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ...

, an American microbiologist and 1978 Nobel Laureate. She played an early role in the refutation of the GFAJ-1 "arsenic life" results of

Felisa Wolfe-Simon Felisa Wolfe-Simon is an American microbial geobiologist and biogeochemist. In 2010, Wolfe-Simon led a team that discovered GFAJ-1, an extremophile bacterium that they claimed was capable of substituting arsenic for a small percentage of its p ...

. She joined University of British Colombia as a faculty member in 1993. Rosie's primary research focus has been on the evolution and molecular biology of natural competence in bacteria, or the process through which bacteria take up DNA from their environment. Throughout her career, Redfield championed alternative hypotheses and was not afraid to question generalized assumptions in her field. She notably critiqued a NASA-funded research study by exposing egregious experimental and technical flaws in the research paper. She strongly believes in openness of research and she utilizes her blog as living lab notebook that is open to the public. She retired in 2021.

Select publications

* * * *

Awards

* CIHR Grant (1999) – Regulation of competence in haemophilus influenzae * CIHR Grant (2012) – Regulation of CRP-S promoters in H. Influenzae and E. Coli * Nominated by ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'' as one of

Nature's 10 ''Nature'' 10 is an annual listicle of ten "people who mattered" in science, produced by the scientific journal ''Nature (journal), Nature''. Nominees have made a significant impact in science either for good or for bad. Reporters and editorial s ...

people who mattered in 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Redfield, Rosemary Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian microbiologists Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Canadian women scientists Evolutionary biologists Women evolutionary biologists