Mellanby, May (1882–1978)
Mellanby, May (1882–1978)
English dental researcher. Name variations: May Tweedy or May Tweedy Mellanby; Lady Mellanby. Born May Tweedy, May 1, 1882, in London, England; died Mar 5, 1978; dau. of a shipowner; sister of Nora Edkins (1890–1977, physiologist who married Professor J.S. Edkins); Girton College, Cambridge, DSc, 1906; m. Sir Edward Mellanby (college lecturer), 1914 (died 1955).
An expert on tooth decay and structure of teeth, spent early years in Russia; was research scholar and lecturer at University of London's Bedford College (1906–14); lectured in physiology at Chelsea and Battersea Polytechnics (1914–18); began conducting dental research (1918) for Medical Research Council (MRC) and was 1st to report (with Sir Edward Mellanby, 1918) that a fat-soluble vitamin is essential to the calcification of dental enamel; in Germany, researched the connection between the quality of bread consumed and the amount of dental decay (1934–38); lectured in Germany, Hungary, South Africa, France and US; served on MCR's Dental Disease Committee; assisted husband when he became MCR's secretary; became a Girton College honorary fellow (1958) and a University of Toronto Charles Mickle fellow (1935–36).