Leonard Bruce-Chwatt

Leonard Jan Bruce-Chwatt (born Leonard Jan Chwatt on 9 June 1907 in Łódź and died 18 May 1989) was a Polish medical doctor, malariologist and medical entomologist who worked extensively on malarial research in Nigeria with the British colonial medical service, and later with the World Health Organization and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Biography and career Bruce-Chwatt was educated first in Saint Petersburg, and later in Warsaw where he obtained his degree in medicine with distinction in 1930. He spent two years as RMO in the Polish Army. He then took a postgraduate degree in microbiology and serology in 1933, after which he moved to France for two years to pursue a diploma in colonial medicine. While serving with the Polish Army in Britain, Bruce-Chwatt earned a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Duncan Medal at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

In 1942, he was transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corps and sent to No. 7 Malaria Field Laboratory in Nigeria. He was demobilised in 1946, and began working as a medical entomologist with the Colonial Medical Service in Nigeria. In 1948, Chwatt became a British subject, married Joan Margaret Bruce and added her name to his own.

Over the course of his career, Bruce-Chwatt published numerous works on malaria.

Honours Bruce-Chwatt received the Officer of the British Empire during the 1953 Coronation Honours, and the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George during the 1976 Birthday Honours. In 1971, Bruce-Chwatt was conferred with the Darling Foundation Prize awarded by League of Nations. He also received the George Macdonald Medal awarded by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1981.

Selected publications