Dorothy Mary Moyle Needham (née Moyle)
(1896-1987), Biochemist; wife of Joseph Needham; daughter of John MoyleSitter in 5 portraits
After graduating from Girton College, Cambridge, Dorothy continued her research under Frederick Hopkins and gained a PhD in 1926. Her groundbreaking work studied the part adenosine triphosphate (ATP) plays in the contraction of muscle. During World War II, she studied the effects of chemical weapons such as mustard gas on the metabolism of skin and bone marrow. In 1944 Dorothy accompanied her husband Joseph Needham to China and was appointed scientific counsellor at the British Embassy. In 1971 Machina Carnis: the biochemistry of muscular contraction in its historical development was published. Her significant contribution to biochemistry was recognised by becoming an Honorary fellow at three of Cambridge's Colleges.
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