Brigid Hogan

Brigid L. M. Hogan FRS is a British developmental biologist noted for her contributions to stem cell research and transgenic technology and techniques. She is the George Barth Geller Professor of Research in Molecular Biology and Chair of the Department of Cell Biology at Duke University, as well as the director of the Duke Stem Cell Program.

Hogan was born in High Wycombe, a small town near London. Both of her parents were artists. As a child she faced the difficulties of postWorld War II Britain. Her father, a stage designer, died in 1945 shortly after coming back from the front lines. Her single mother, a dressmaker, raised her and her sibling. She was a support and inspiration to Hogan. The village Hogan grew up in was close to nature and fostered her love for biology. Her rational scientific thinking helped her cope with her uncertain home life. She has been an atheist since she was a child. She attended an allgirls high school, where her biology teacher mentored her as she applied to Cambridge University. She was admitted to Newnham College, Cambridges allwomens college, where she faced negative attitudes from male faculty due to her gender, typical of the time. She still treasures her experiences there. Peter Holland, her student, became wellknown for his work on the evolution of the vertebrate head.

Source: Wikipedia