Barbara Mawer
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Elizabeth Barbara Mawer (née Entwistle, 6 March 1936 – 7 March 2006) was a British
biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...
and medical researcher. She was regarded as a "highly influential figure in the calcium homoeostasis field".


Early life and education

Barbara Entwistle was born on 6 March 1939 in
Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...
to Thomas Entwistle, a teacher, and Gladys Mary Entwistle (née Cornall). She attended Blackburn High School and Queen Mary School in
Lytham St Annes Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population of the built-up area at the 2021 United Kingdom census, ...
. She received a BSc in
biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...
from the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
in 1957. She stayed there to conduct research, supervised by Guy Marrian, and in 1961 received a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
for her thesis entitled ''The metabolism of cholesterol in the animal body''. From 1958 to 1963 she also worked as an assistant lecturer at Edinburgh.


Scientific career

After taking a break from working in order to look after her young children, in 1967 Mawer became a research associate at the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
, studying
vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of structurally related, fat-soluble compounds responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, along with numerous other biological functions. In humans, the most important compo ...
and metabolic bone disease with William Stanbury. Together they were among the first to demonstrate why patients with renal disease are deficient in
calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...
– namely, they cannot produce
calcitriol Calcitriol is a hormone and the active form of vitamin D, normally made in the kidney. It is also known as 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol. It binds to and activates the vitamin D receptor in the nucleus of the cell, which then increases the exp ...
. Mawer was promoted to senior research fellow in 1974, and she became a "North West Regional Health Authority senior research fellow" in 1983. Stanbury retired that year, and when Mawer applied to the Medical Research Council for funding, they claimed not to know her, as previously Stanbury had received the funding. However, she would later succeed in receiving, with her colleague Mike Davies, funding of almost one million pounds per year to research the metabolism of vitamin D. They discovered that calcitriol receptors are found throughout the body, and Mawer worked on developing assays for vitamin D metabolites, for which she became well known. She was appointed as a reader in medicine in 1993 before being made Professor of Bone and Mineral Metabolism in 1995. She retired from Manchester in 2001. Mawer was president of the Bone and Tooth Society (now the Bone Research Society) from 1992 to 1994; she had previously served as secretary. Not long before her death the Society established a fellowship to assist its members undertaking research. Mawer was among the founders of Manchester's Bone Disease Research Centre and served as its deputy director from its inception in 1994 until 1997.


Politics

Mawer took part in local politics, serving as a parish councillor and school governor in Thelwall,
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
, where she lived. She was elected to Warrington Borough Council in 1987, becoming leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition there in 1991. During her tenure the number of Liberal Democrat councillors more than doubled; she herself was well regarded for her intelligence and hard work for the local community. She served as Warrington's representative on the North West Regional Assembly. She stepped down in 2004.


Personal life and death

In 1957 she married George Mawer, a doctor and pharmacologist, with whom she had three daughters; they later divorced amicably. In 1981 she married Clifford Gordon Taylor, a research chemist. Mawer died on 7 March 2006 at Christie Hospital in Manchester, having had
liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...
for two years. She left her daughters and her second husband.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mawer, Barbara Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British biochemists British women biochemists Deaths from liver cancer in England Councillors in Cheshire Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Academics of the University of Manchester 1936 births 2006 deaths Women councillors in England