Maria Fitzgerald facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Fitzgerald
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Fitzgerald in 2016
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| Born | 10 April 1953 |
| Education | Godolphin and Latymer School |
| Alma mater | |
| Awards | Joan Mott Prize Lecture (1996) |
| Scientific career | |
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| Institutions | University College London |
| Thesis | The sensitisation of cutaneous nociceptors (1978) |
| Doctoral advisor | Patrick David Wall |
Maria Fitzgerald is a British scientist who studies the brain and nervous system. She is a professor at University College London. Her work focuses on how pain is felt and understood, especially in babies and young children. She has made important discoveries about how pain affects us from a very young age.
Early Life and Learning
Maria Fitzgerald was born in London, England. Her mother was Penelope Fitzgerald, a famous writer. Her father, Desmond Fitzgerald, was a major in the Irish Guards. Her older brother, Edmund Valpy Fitzgerald, is also a professor.
Maria went to Godolphin and Latymer School. She then studied how the body works (physiology) at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. In 1975, she earned her first degree from the University of Oxford.
She continued her studies at University College London. There, she learned about pain and the nervous system. She worked with scientists Bruce Lynn and Patrick David Wall. In 1978, she earned her PhD. Since 1981, her research has received continuous support from the Medical Research Council. She became a professor at UCL, where she studies how the nervous system develops.
Discoveries About Pain
Professor Fitzgerald studies how pain signals travel through the brain and spinal cord. She looks at how these pathways develop from birth. Her research has greatly changed how we understand pain in early life.
Her work shows that how we experience pain as babies can affect our pain sensitivity later in life. Before her research, many people thought babies did not feel pain in the same way as adults. Professor Fitzgerald proved that babies do feel pain. She showed that their pain needs to be measured and treated carefully. The treatment should also fit the child's age and development.
Awards and Special Recognition
Maria Fitzgerald has received many awards for her important work.
- In 2011, she won the Jeffrey Lawson Award. This award is for people who speak up for children's pain relief. She was the first basic scientist to receive it.
- In 2013, she was chosen for the Faculty of Pain Medicine. This was for her big contributions to pain medicine.
- She became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2000.
- In 2016, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists.
- She has also received honorary memberships from several important pain and physiology groups. These include the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and the British Pain Society.
You can listen to a podcast about her research career on the Pain Research Forum.
