Jane H. F. Mellanby (14 April 1938 – 8 February 2021) was a British neuroscientist and academic. She was a doctoral student of biochemist Hans Krebs, and was a fellow at St. Hilda's College, Oxford from 1971 to 2006.
Early life
Mellanby was born in Sheffield, the daughter of entomologist Kenneth Mellanby and Canadian-born biomedical researcher Agnes Helen Nielson Dow Mellanby.[1][2][3] Her uncle was biochemist Edward Mellanby.[4] She read botany, physiology and chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford. In 1962, she completed doctoral studies in biochemistry at Oxford with Hans Krebs as her advisor.[5]
Career
Mellanby worked on tetanospasmin and botulinum toxins as a postdoctoral research associate at Sir William Dunn School of Pathology. In 1970, she and Larry Weiskrantz founded the Neurochemistry unit in Oxford's Experimental Psychology department. She was a Fellow at St. Hilda's College, Oxford from 1971. From 1977 to 2006, she was an Official Fellow in Experimental Psychology at St. Hilda's; she was also vice-principal of the college, from 1990 to 1996. In 2016, she was elected an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.[6]
"Enzymic determination of d(−)-β-hydroxybutyric acid and acetoacetic acid in blood" (1962, with Dermot H. Williamson and Hans A. Krebs)[16]
"The equilibrium constant of the β-hydroxybutyric-dehydrogenase system" (1962, with Dermot H. Williamson and Hans A. Krebs)[18]
"Specific Precocious Protective Action of Toxoids" (1964, with W. E. van Heyningen)[11]
"The effect of tetanus toxin in the goldfish" (1971, with J. Diamond)[19]
"The effect of tetanus toxin at the neuromuscular junction in the goldfish" (1972, with P. A. Thompson)[13]
"A note on the specific fixation, specific deactivation and non-specific inactivation of bacterial toxins by gangliosides" (1973, with W. E. van Heyningen)[20]
"D-(–)-3-Hydroxybutyrate" (1974, with Dermot H. Williamson)[21]
"How does tetanus toxin act?" (1981, with Jane Green)[12]
"The effect of Ro 15-4513, an inverse agonist at the benzodiazepine receptor, on the exploratory response to novelty in the playground maze" (1994, with Briony Nicholls and Stephen Smith)[22]
"The 'gender gap' in final examination results at Oxford University" (2000, with Maryanne Martin and John O'Doherty)[10]
"Attitudes to e-learning, learning style and achievement in learning neuroanatomy by medical students" (2008, with Elena Svirko)[17]
"Deep learning questions can help selection of high ability candidates for universities" (2009, with Mario Cortino-Borja and John Stein)[23]
"Verbal and Spatial Analogical Reasoning in Deaf and Hearing Children: The Role of Grammar and Vocabulary" (2011, with Lindsey Edwards, Berta Figueras, and Dawn Langdon)[14]
"Trait anxiety and final degree performance at the University of Oxford" (2011, with Anna Zimdars)[15]
Education and Learning: An Evidence–based Approach (2014, with Katy Theobald)[24]
"Teaching neuroanatomy using computer-aided learning: What makes for successful outcomes?" (2017, with Elena Svirko)[25]
Personal life
Mellanby married zoologist and curator Oliver R. Impey in 1961. They had four children, including Edward Impey. She was widowed when Impey died in 2005;[26] she died from cancer in 2021, aged 82 years.[4]