Brigid Hogan facts for kids

Brigid L. M. Hogan is a famous British scientist. She is known for her work in developmental biology. This field studies how living things grow and develop. She also made big contributions to stem cell research. Stem cells are special cells that can turn into many different types of cells. She also helped create transgenic technology. This involves changing the genes of an animal.

Brigid Hogan is currently a Professor at Duke University. She was born in the UK. Later, in 2000, she became an American citizen.

She earned her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge. She then did more research at MIT. She led a lab in London. Later, she helped start a program at Vanderbilt University. In 2002, she moved to Duke University.

Her research on how mice develop was very important. She helped create a famous guide for working with mouse embryos. It's called Manipulating the Mouse Embryo: A Laboratory Manual. Many scientists use this book.

She has also led important science groups. These include the American Society for Developmental Biology. She also led the American Society for Cell Biology. She has received many awards for her amazing work.

Early Life and Education

Brigid Hogan was born in 1943 in Denham. This is a small village near London, England. Her parents were both artists. Her father, a stage designer, died when she was very young. This happened after he returned from World War II. Her mother, a dressmaker, raised Brigid and her sibling. Her mother was a great support and inspiration.

Growing up near nature helped her love biology. Science also helped her deal with tough times at home. She went to High Wycombe High School for girls. Her biology teacher there helped her apply to Cambridge University. She was accepted into Newnham College. This was an all-women's college at Cambridge. At that time, some male professors treated women students poorly. But Brigid Hogan worked hard and succeeded.

Her Amazing Science Career

When Brigid Hogan was at Cambridge, there were no courses on cell or developmental biology. So, she went to MIT for her next research. There, she studied how sea urchins develop.

Around 1974, she returned to Britain. She started working on mouse embryonic stem cells. These are very early cells that can become any cell type. She worked at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London. A scientist named Anne McLaren encouraged her. Brigid Hogan then focused her career on mouse development. She has continued this work ever since. She led the Laboratory of Molecular Embryology in London. One of her students, Peter Holland, became famous for his work on how animals evolve.

In 1988, she moved to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the United States. She became a professor there. She also helped start the Stem Cell and Organogenesis Program. From 1993 to 2002, she was a researcher for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She really liked the American excitement for science. She also liked how women were supported in science there. She says her time at Vanderbilt was "one of the most productive and exciting" parts of her career.

In 2002, she left Vanderbilt after 13 years. She moved to Duke University Medical Center. There, she became the head of the Cell Biology department. She was the first woman to lead a basic science department at Duke.

At Duke, she continued her important research. Her lab studied the lung. Lungs grow in a special way, like branches on a tree. She created many special mouse lines. These mice help scientists study how genes work in lung cells. She is very interested in the stem cells of the mouse lung. These can help us understand human lung diseases. She hopes her research can help people with diseases like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, asthma, and pulmonary fibrosis. She also hopes to help premature babies whose lungs haven't fully developed.

Awards and Special Recognition

Brigid Hogan has received many important awards and honors for her work. Here are some of them:

• 1986 – Became a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization
• 1993–2002 – Was an Investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• 1996 – Became a member of the Institute of Medicine
• 2001 – Became a Fellow of the Royal Society (a very high honor in science)
• 2001 – Served as President of the American Society for Developmental Biology
• 2001 – Became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2005 – Became a member of the National Academy of Sciences
• 2008 – Won the International Society for Transgenic Technologies Prize
• 2009 – Served as President of the American Society for Cell Biology
• 2014 – Gave the Croonian Lecture (a famous lecture at the Royal Society)
• 2015 – Received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Developmental Biology
• 2019 – Received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Duke University Medical School Alumni
• 2019 – Received the FASEB Excellence in Science Lifetime Achievement Award