Rosalind Hurley
Encyclopedia
Dame Rosalinde Hurley, Mrs. Gortvai, DBE
, FRC
, FRCPath
, FRCOG
(30 December 1929 - 30 June 2004) was knighted by the British government for her services to medicine
, science
and law
.
She was:
She was both a professor and consultant medical microbiologist
, researcher
, and ethicist
, as well as being a barrister
; she applied her legal training and expertise for the benefit of her medical, and especially her microbiological, practice.
Born in England on 30 December 1929 to a Roman Catholic family of Irish descent, the daughter of William and Rose Hurley, her early education was at the Academy of the Assumption in Massachusetts
. She remained a lifelong Catholic.
She and her brother had been sent to the States during the Second World War to live with a friend of her father. She returned to Britain in 1948 and studied medicine at Charing Cross Hospital
Medical School while at the same time studying law. In four years she qualified in medicine (LRCP, MRCS and MBBS in 1955) and became a Barrister
at Law. She took the Diploma in Literature of the University of London
in 1956 and won the Gilchrist Prize and the Churton Collins Prize in Literature while a pre-registration house officer at the Wembley and West London hospitals.
She was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple
in 1958 and was awarded LLB in 1959 while a lecturer and assistant clinical pathologist at Charing Cross Hospital and Medical School. Her medical thesis on perinatal candida
infections led to a sustained interest in mycology
. Her contributions soon spread well beyond Queen Charlotte's, for example when she became a member of the PHLS Board. It was at a time when the Service's infectious diseases surveillance role was becoming more prominent and its recently created Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre was growing.
By the 1980s the PHLS needed to have an ethical review of its own research projects, but also to be advised on the ethics of its broader programmes of disease surveillance and vaccine evaluation. Professor Hurley established a committee that reported to the Board but operated independently of it. After she had completed two terms as a Board member, Dr. Hurley continued as the Ethics Committee chair until the mid-1990s.
In 1963, around the time she became a consultant, she married Peter Gortvai, a neurosurgeon at St Bartholemew's and Romford hospitals. They had no children. In later life Peter Gortvai suffered from heart disease. He died around 1997.
Dr. Rosalinde Hurley Gortvai died on 30 June 2004, aged 74, from undisclosed causes.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, FRC
FRC
The three-letter acronym FRC can have several different meanings:*Facultad Regional Cordoba, a technical university.*False Roman Cancel, a technique used in the fighting game series Guilty Gear...
, FRCPath
Royal College of Pathologists
The Royal College of Pathologists, founded in 1962, was established to co-ordinate this development and maintain the internationally renowned standards and reputation of British pathology. Today the College advises on a vast range of issues relating to pathology...
, FRCOG
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is a professional association based in the UK. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is, pregnancy, childbirth, and female sexual and reproductive health...
(30 December 1929 - 30 June 2004) was knighted by the British government for her services to medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
.
She was:
- a) Professor/Professor Emerita of Medical Microbiology at the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Imperial College School of Medicine, London
- b) Honorary Consultant Microbiologist, Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital
- c) Member of the Board of the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS)
- d) Chairman, The Medicines Commission
She was both a professor and consultant medical microbiologist
Microbiologist
A microbiologist is a scientist who works in the field of microbiology. Microbiologists study organisms called microbes. Microbes can take the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists...
, researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
, and ethicist
Ethicist
An ethicist is one whose judgment on ethics and ethical codes has come to be trusted by a specific community, and is expressed in some way that makes it possible for others to mimic or approximate that judgement...
, as well as being a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
; she applied her legal training and expertise for the benefit of her medical, and especially her microbiological, practice.
Born in England on 30 December 1929 to a Roman Catholic family of Irish descent, the daughter of William and Rose Hurley, her early education was at the Academy of the Assumption in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. She remained a lifelong Catholic.
She and her brother had been sent to the States during the Second World War to live with a friend of her father. She returned to Britain in 1948 and studied medicine at Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital is a general, acute hospital located in London, United Kingdom and established in 1818. It is located several miles to the west of the city centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham....
Medical School while at the same time studying law. In four years she qualified in medicine (LRCP, MRCS and MBBS in 1955) and became a Barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
at Law. She took the Diploma in Literature of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1956 and won the Gilchrist Prize and the Churton Collins Prize in Literature while a pre-registration house officer at the Wembley and West London hospitals.
She was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1958 and was awarded LLB in 1959 while a lecturer and assistant clinical pathologist at Charing Cross Hospital and Medical School. Her medical thesis on perinatal candida
Candida (genus)
Candida is a genus of yeasts. Many species are harmless commensals or endosymbionts of animal hosts including humans, but other species, or harmless species in the wrong location, can cause disease. Candida albicans can cause infections in humans and other animals, especially in immunocompromised...
infections led to a sustained interest in mycology
Mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...
. Her contributions soon spread well beyond Queen Charlotte's, for example when she became a member of the PHLS Board. It was at a time when the Service's infectious diseases surveillance role was becoming more prominent and its recently created Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre was growing.
By the 1980s the PHLS needed to have an ethical review of its own research projects, but also to be advised on the ethics of its broader programmes of disease surveillance and vaccine evaluation. Professor Hurley established a committee that reported to the Board but operated independently of it. After she had completed two terms as a Board member, Dr. Hurley continued as the Ethics Committee chair until the mid-1990s.
In 1963, around the time she became a consultant, she married Peter Gortvai, a neurosurgeon at St Bartholemew's and Romford hospitals. They had no children. In later life Peter Gortvai suffered from heart disease. He died around 1997.
Dr. Rosalinde Hurley Gortvai died on 30 June 2004, aged 74, from undisclosed causes.
External links
- http://www.hpa.org.uk/cdph/issues/CDPHvol7/No4/obit_4_04.pdf Obituary
- http://www.hpa.org.uk/cdph/issues/CDPHvol7/No4/CDPHv7n4.html
- http://www.archetypeltd.co.nz/Silencing_dissenters.htm
- http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199596/cmhansrd/vo960208/text/60208w15.htm