Una Lucy Fielding (20 May 1888 – 11 August 1969) was an Australian

neuroanatomist Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defin ...

Early life

Una Fielding was born in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

to Anglican clergyman and author Rev. Sydney Glanville Fielding and his wife Lucy Frances (née Johnson). The eldest of six children, Una attended a private school in Windsor before starting at St Catherine's School, Waverley in 1900. In 1907 she won a

bursary A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awar ...

to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

; after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1910 she spent six years teaching French and English.

Career in medicine

Fielding returned to the University of Sydney to study medicine, completing a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in 1919, then a Bachelor of Medicine (MB) and Master of Surgery (ChM) in 1922. In 1923 Fielding moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to work as a demonstrator in the department of anatomy at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where she gained a reputation for both her competence and knowledge in the field of practical neurology. She was encouraged to study ''

monotreme Monotremes () are mammals of the order Monotremata. They are the only group of living mammals that lay eggs, rather than bearing live young. The extant monotreme species are the platypus and the four species of echidnas. Monotremes are typified ...

s (''mammals that lay eggs) by the head of the anatomy department Sir Grafton Elliot Smith, and in 1925 she presented her first paper, on the marsupial mole, to the

Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Anatomical Society (AS), previously known as the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland or ASGBI was founded in London in 1887 to "promote, develop and advance research and education in all aspects of anatomical science". The society ...

. Following a term at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1927, she was appointed Acting Professor of Histology and Neurology at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

from 1928 to 1929. During this time she collaborated on publications with A. S. Parkes and Francis Brambell. On returning to London, she worked with Romanian scientist and Rockefeller research fellow Grigore T. Popa, discovering the vascular link between the

hypothalamus The hypothalamus (: hypothalami; ) is a small part of the vertebrate brain that contains a number of nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrin ...

and the

pituitary gland The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, the pituitary gland is located at the base of the human brain, brain, protruding off the bottom of the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus contr ...

. Fielding and Popa published their findings in ''The Lancet'' and the ''Journal of Anatomy.'' From 1928 Fielding's work at UCL included lecturing and teaching in multiple subjects including neurology, and anatomy and physiology of the nervous system. In 1935 Fielding was appointed a Reader in neurological anatomy at UCL.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fielding, Una Lucy 1888 births 1969 deaths Academics of University College London Academic staff of the American University of Beirut Australian scientists University of Sydney alumni Australian neurologists Women neurologists Australian women neuroscientists University of Michigan people 20th-century Australian women scientists 19th-century Australian women