Honor Bridget Fell

Dame Honor Bridget Fell, DBE, FRS (22 May 1900 – 22 April 1986) was a British scientist and zoologist. Her contributions to science included the development of experimental methods in organ culture, tissue culture, and cell biology.

Early life and education Fell was born to Colonel William Edwin Fell and Alice Fell at Fowthorpe near Filey in Yorkshire on 22 May 1900, the youngest of nine children. She had six sisters and two brothers, the younger of the two brothers, with down syndrome, died at the age of eight. Fell was known as the baby of the family. Her father was a minor landowner but cannot be said to have been a successful farmer. On the other hand her mother was a very practical and capable carpenter. Both school and family records highlight her childhood love of pet ferrets. and a D.Sc in 1932.

Strangeways Research Laboratory The Strangeways Research Laboratory, Cambridge, was an independent world-renowned research institution. Due to the lack of funds in 1908, it was forced to shut down, but reopened the following year. After Thomas Strangeways' unexpected death in 1926, the future of his research facility, then known as the Cambridge Research Hospital, was in doubt. After advocacy by Fell and collaborator F.G. Spear, the institution's trustees decided to keep the research group open, with funding from the Medical Research Council. Fell was named the new director in 1928 and the institution's name was changed to the Strangeways Research Laboratory in honor of its founder. A great reason to appoint Fell was she did not require salary. Fell was funded by the Beit Memorial Fellowship and supported by the Royal Society Research Fellowship. The researchers who worked at the laboratory were never funded by the funds from the research lab, which were obtained from different sources. Fell served as director until 1970 when she was succeeded by Michael Abercrombie. During that time, she also maintained an active research program in tissue and organ culture. —it developed an international reputation for tissue culture, cell biology, and radiobiology, and attracted large numbers of visiting scientists; in one tabulation, visitors from 32 different countries were recorded. including Australian zoologist Margaret Hardy. Fell's skill in networking and administration is widely considered a major contributor to the success of the laboratory. In time, cell culture or in vitro experiments have become a key pillar of life science research.

Personal life Fell lived alone during her working life and never married or had children. She first lived at lodgings and then lived in a house near the Laboratory for easier access. She entertained little, but loved to go on picnics with her friends into the Fenland countryside. 1943–67: Appointed Foulerton Research Fellow, Royal Society 1953: Elected Fellow, Royal Society of London 1959: Awarded Honorary LL.D, University of Edinburgh 1963: Awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire 1963: Appointed Royal Society Research Professor 1964: Awarded Honorary D.Sc, University of Oxford 1964: Awarded Honorary Sc.D, Harvard University 1965: Awarded the Grand Prix Charles-Leopold Mayer of the French Academy of Sciences 1975: Awarded Honorary MD, University of Leiden 1977: Appointed, Walker-Ames Professor, University of Washington, Seattle