Diana Martin (scientist)

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Diana Martin
Martin receiving her ONZM in 2008
Born
Diana Rae France

(1942-02-07)7 February 1942
Wellington, New Zealand
Died31 December 2019(2019-12-31) (aged 77)
Alma materUniversity of London
Spouse
Peter Martin
(m. 1969)
Scientific career
InstitutionsNew Zealand Communicable Disease Centre
Institute of Environmental Science and Research
ThesisVariation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1971)

Diana Rae Martin ONZM (née France; 7 February 1942 – 31 December 2019) was a New Zealand microbiologist. She was a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi from 2000, and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to microbiology in 2008.

Early life and education[edit]

Martin was born Diana Rae France in Wellington on 7 February 1942, the daughter of Udall and Thelma France.[1][2] She followed a Bachelor of Science in 1963 from the University of Otago with an MSc(Hons) in microbiology in 1965, with a thesis titled Observations on the distribution and bacteriophage typing of the genus proteus.[3][1]

She worked for the National Health Institute in Wellington for two years, and then in 1968 moved to the Central Public Health Laboratory in London, where she was in charge of the Pseudomonas Laboratory. During her time in London, she obtained her PhD on microbial epidemiology from the University of London, submitting her thesis, Variation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in 1971.[4]

Research[edit]

Martin returned to New Zealand in 1972, where she initially worked for Wellington Polytechnic as a microbiology tutor, until 1975. After this point she worked for the National Health Institute, the New Zealand Communicable Disease Centre and the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR). Martin was instrumental in the creation of the Group B meningococcal OMV vaccine (MeNZB) for New Zealand. She retired in 2011.[1]

Honours and awards[edit]

Martin was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2000.[1] In the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to microbiology.[5]

Personal life[edit]

In 1969, she married Peter David Martin, a respiratory physician.[2] In the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours, Peter Martin was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tobacco control.[6]

Diana Martin died on 31 December 2019 after a "long, debilitating illness". She was survived by her husband and two children.[1][7]

Selected works[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Diana Rae Martin". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b Lambert, Max, ed. (1991). Who's Who in New Zealand (12th ed.). Auckland: Reed. ISBN 0-7900-0130-6.
  3. ^ France, Diana Rae (1965). Observations on the distribution and bacteriophage typing of the genus proteus (MSc). University of Otago. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  4. ^ Martin, Diana (1971). Variation in pseudomonas aeruginosa (PhD). London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2008". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2 June 2008. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Queen's 90th Birthday honours list 2016". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Dr Diana Martin obituary". Dominion Post. 7 January 2020. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.