Ruth Ann Sanger (6 June 1918 – 4 June 2001) was an Australian immunogeneticist, haematologist and

serologist Serology is the scientific study of serum and other body fluids. In practice, the term usually refers to the diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum. Such antibodies are typically formed in response to an infection (against a given mi ...

. She was known for her work on human red cell antigens and for the genetic mapping of the human X chromosome. She was Director of the Medical Research Council Blood Group Unit, of the

Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, informally known as the Lister Institute, was established as a research institute (the British Institute of Preventive Medicine) in 1891, with bacteriologist Marc Armand Ruffer as its first director, us ...

from 1973-1983. She worked closely with Robert Russell Race from the 1940s, and they married in 1956. They co-authored many papers after 1948, and co-wrote six editions of a leading work on blood groups, ''Blood Groups in Man'', which helped make blood transfusions safer. The book was known as "Race and Sanger", which were published between 1950 and 1975.

Education and early life

Sanger was born in

Southport, Queensland Southport is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. In the , Southport had a population of 31,908 people. It contains the Gold Coast central business district. Geography Southport is bounded to the south-east ...

, Australia and had four siblings. Her father, Rev. Hubert Sanger, became headmaster of Armidale School in New South Wales. She was first cousins with

Frederick Sanger Frederick Sanger (; 13 August 1918 – 19 November 2013) was an English biochemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice. He won the 1958 Chemistry Prize for determining the amino acid sequence of insulin and numerous other pr ...

, the biochemist and two-time winner of the Nobel prize. She received her early education in New South Wales at three schools: Harleyville Ladies College (1924–1926), New England Girls school, Armidale (1926–1927), and Abbotsleigh Wahrounga (1928–35). She went on to receive a Bachelor of Science from

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

(1940), and earned a PhD from the University of London (1948).

Career

From 1940-1946 she worked as a haematologist for the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

. In 1946, she moved to England to work with R.R. Race at the Medical Research Counsil (MRC), Blood Group Unit. While there, she received a doctorate from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

in 1948 on the variety of blood group systems. She returned to Australia after receiving her doctorate, but then moved permanently to the United Kingdom in 1950 and remained at the MRC until 1973. The first edition of ''Blood Groups in Man'' was published in August 1950, based on the systematic analysis of blood groups in her PhD thesis. In 1973, she succeeded R.R. Race as Director of the Medical Research Council's Blood Group Unit at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine in London. She retired in 1983.

Honours and awards

* Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award, USA (1957), joint with R. R. Race *Philip Levine Award, USA (1970), joint with R. R. Race * Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) (1972) *

Gairdner Foundation International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a ...

(1972, Canada), joint with R. R. Race * Oliver Memorial Award from the British Red Cross (1973) *Received an honorary Doctor of Medicine (MD (Honoris Causa)) from the

Helsinki University The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the R ...

(1990) Her nomination for the Royal Society reads:

Personal life

Sanger married Race on April 6, 1956 following the death of Race's first wife.

Death

Sanger died in

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient pa ...

in 2001 and had no children.

Selected publications

* Sanger, Ruth A. (1946-10). "The Incomplete Antibody : a Quantitative Aspect". ''Nature''. 158 (4014): 487–487. doi:10.1038/158487a0.

ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...

1476-4687. * Race, R. R.; Mourant, A. E.; Lawler, Sylvia D.; Sanger, Ruth (1948-06-01). "THE Rh CHROMOSOME FREQUENCIES IN ENGLAND". ''Blood''. 3 (6): 689–695. doi:10.1182/blood.V3.6.689.689.

0006-4971. * Sanger, Ruth (1955-12). "An Association Between the P And Jay Systems of Blood Groups". ''Nature''. 176 (4494): 1163–1164. doi:10.1038/1761163a0.

1476-4687.

External links

The Robert Race and Ruth Sanger papers are kept at the

Wellcome Library The Wellcome Library is founded on the collection formed by Sir Henry Wellcome (1853–1936), whose personal wealth allowed him to create one of the most ambitious collections of the 20th century. Henry Wellcome's interest was the history of m ...

. They have been digitised and ar
available online

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanger, Ruth Ann 1918 births 2001 deaths Alumni of the University of London Australian haematologists Australian geneticists Female Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society 20th-century British women scientists Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom