Dora Lush

Dora Mary Lush (31 July 1910 – 20 May 1943) was an Australian bacteriologist. She died after accidentally pricking her finger with a needle which contained lethal scrub typhus while attempting to develop a vaccine for the disease.

Dora Lush
Born(1910-07-31)31 July 1910
Hawthorn, Victoria
Died20 May 1943(1943-05-20) (aged 32)
Melbourne, Victoria
CitizenshipAustralia
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne (B.Sc. 1932, M.Sc. 1934)
Scientific career
FieldsBacteriology
InstitutionsNational Institute for Medical Research
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Early life

Lush was born in Hawthorn, Victoria, the daughter of John Fullarton Lush, a clerk, and his wife Dora Emma Louisa née Puttmann.[1] She had two brothers, who served as officers in the Second AIF and RAAF during World War II.[2] She was educated at Fintona Girls' School[3] and the University of Melbourne, gaining a B.Sc. in 1932 and an M.Sc. in 1934.[1] She was an active sportswoman, being selected for the University of Melbourne's women's basketball team.[4]

Research

Lush worked at the National Institute for Medical Research, London, from early in 1939. She returned to Australia. Her work on the influenza virus was praised in 1940.[5] She worked with Frank Macfarlane Burnet at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne on a scrub typhus vaccine in 1942,[1] as scrub typhus was a serious health risk to Australian soldiers engaged in jungle warfare in the New Guinea Campaign during World War II.[6][7]

Death

On 27 April 1943 Lush accidentally pricked her finger with a needle containing scrub typhus while inoculating a mouse. There was no effective treatment at the time for this often fatal disease. She died four weeks later, on 20 May 1943.[2] Before her death she insisted that blood samples be taken from her to aid research.[1][7] Unfortunately, the researchers were ultimately unable to develop a satisfactory vaccine.[8]

Lush was cremated at Springvale Crematorium on 22 May 1943.[3] A memorial tablet was placed outside the laboratory where she worked at Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.[9]

Legacy

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) now offers postgraduate scholarships named in her honour and has referred to her work in a research impact case study.[10][11][12]

Lush Place in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm is named in her honour.[13]

References
  1. Rasmussen, Carolyn. "Lush, Dora Mary (1910–1943)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  2. "Death from Scrub Fever". Kalgoorlie Miner. Vol. 49, no. 12, 754. Western Australia. 25 May 1943. p. 1. Retrieved 8 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Lost Life in Cause of Science". The Argus. Melbourne. 21 May 1943.
  4. "Return of Hockey Team". The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946). Melbourne. 15 August 1931. p. 50. Retrieved 18 August 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "U.S. Tribute To Australian Doctors' Work". The News. Adelaide. 21 October 1940. p. 4. Retrieved 18 August 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "A Science Note: About the Unpleasant New Guinea Bush "Mokka"". The Australasian. Melbourne. 24 June 1944. p. 13. Retrieved 18 August 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "X-Ray Martyr Left Only £13 Estate". The Worker. Brisbane. 24 May 1943. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. Walker, Allan S. (1952). Clinical Problems of War. pp. 192–193, 666. OCLC 8324033. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. "Tropical Diseases: Miss D. Lush honoured". The West Australian. Vol. 61, no. 18, 367. Western Australia. 25 May 1945. p. 10. Retrieved 8 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Miss Dora Lush". 28 October 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  11. "Dora Lush, the Australian scientist and war hero you've never heard about". 16 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  12. National Health and Medical Research Council (27 April 2021). "Influenza pandemics and their control: Case Study". NHMRC Impact Case Studies.
  13. "Schedule 'B' National Memorials Ordinance 1928–1972 Street Nomenclature List of Additional Names with Reference to Origin: Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special (National: 1977–2012) – 8 Feb 1978". Trove. p. 13. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
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