Nancy Atkinson, was an Australian bacteriologist. In the 1950s, she was recognised as one of the world's leading authorities on bacteriology, and led research on Salmonella bacteria, antibiotic and vaccine development, and the isolation of the poliovirus.
Early life and education
Atkinson was born in Melbourne, Australia. She began studying a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne, majoring in chemistry but eventually switching to the relatively new field of bacteriology. She graduated with the bachelor's degree in 1931, and with a Master of Science in 1932, then worked as a research scholar and demonstrator at the university's Department of Bacteriology from 1932 to 1937.
Scientific career
In 1937, Atkinson transferred to the Government of South Australia's Laboratory of Pathology and Bacteriology in Adelaide. The next year, the laboratory was incorporated into the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science as part of the University of Adelaide. Atkinson continued to work part-time at the institute, whilst also lecturing in bacteriology at the university. She was promoted to lecturer-in-charge in 1942, and reader-in-charge of bacteriology in 1952, whereupon she joined the university full-time. Atkinson's early work at the IMVS involved the development, production and administration of the BCG vaccine in Australia to combat tuberculosis, as encouraged by Darcy Cowan. Atkinson and her team at the institute were responsible for manufacturing the first batch of penicillin in Australia, after eighteen months of work produced enough of the antibiotic to cover a threepenny piece in 1943. She also regularly put out calls for samples of Australian flora such as the Geraldton wax and native fungi, which were then analysed to determine if they could be used to develop new anti-bacterial substances. In 1943, Atkinson developed penicidin, an antibiotic which was proposed to be used as an alterative to penicillin, however the drug was reclassified in the 1960s as a mycotoxin. Atkinson specialised in the study of Salmonella bacteria. She established and ran the Salmonella Reference Laboratory, and published extensively on the subject. In 1943, she discovered a new strain of the bacteria, which she named S. adelaide after South Australia's capital city.
