Marie E. Coates

Marie Coates (19 March 1916 – 31 May 2004) was a British biologist who was an expert in gnotobiosis. She served as President of the Nutrition Society. She used plastic isolators to research the impact of gut microbes on food additives.

Early life and education Coates grew up in Wanstead. She attended Ilford County High School. As a teenager she became interested in horseriding, and used to take excursions into Epping Forest.

Research and career The Nutrition Laboratories of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society moved to the National Institute for Research in Dairying during World War II. Catherine Coward, then Director of the Nutrition Laboratories, recruited Coates to the laboratory, where she used chicks to study vitamins. She became interest in gut flora, and was involved with establishing the gnotobiology Unit. The Gnotobiology Unit joined the nutrition and microbiology departments. Her research considered the use of plastic film isolators to create germ-free environments to study the impact of gut microbes on food additives.

In 1981 she retired from the National Institute for Research in Dairying and moved to the University of Surrey as a Senior Research Fellow. She retired in 1989.