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Achievers
 

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Scotland

Inverclyde

Read the profile below and answer the questions which follow:

Inverclyde Achievers Case Study      -      Target group: S5-S6

Moira
Brown

Science

Moira Brown knew she was going to be a scientist from the age of eight. At primary school she won a school prize and chose a book by H. G. Wells - its introductory chapter was about a microbiologist. Since then she has never looked back.

Now, many years later, she is a Professor at Glasgow University and she is also Chief Scientist  and Director of Crusade Laboratories, a life-sciences company which is researching treatments for serious illnesses including cancer.

Moira's work has culminated in a modified Herpes Simplex virus that attacks cancer cells and, in conjunction with other therapies, has so far been incredibly successful in both brain tumour and melanoma patients.

Making it to Professor has not been easy though. Moira is not from an academic background and she was the first person from her family to go to university. Also, as a woman, it has been hard making a career in science, particularly in the generation who were at university in the early 1960s. Her advice to women in science is straightforward: "you have to be determined and fight your corner; be really strong and not be put off".

These are the "minor" negative things though, and Moira would never have chosen anything else.  She loves the sense of discovery, and it is the thrill that she gets from uncovering something new that still motivates her today.  "I wish I could instil some of the love of what I do into young people!"
 

She feels very strongly that more of this discovery should be turned to practical use, believing that the UK is great at innovating but not much good at applying what it discovers.

In recent years, Moira's group has followed this principle and her Herpes treatment was authorised for testing on human subjects. "The first patient was a twenty one year-old man who had been diagnosed with a brain tumour and been given four months to live.

When he was injected with the virus [in October '97] I didn't sleep for four nights in case something happened. He's still alive today." Not only a breakthrough for the patient, "this was a world first - purposely putting a live virus into someone's brain!"
 
It's nerve-racking times like this that Moira is helped by her faith. Her Christianity is a fundamental part of her life, and she describes herself as having more of a spiritual than a religious faith. Moira sees no conflict between faith and science and, on the contrary, the deeper she penetrates her field, the more design she sees in creation.
 
Working with human beings as subjects brings ethical issues into sharp focus for Moira. She is certain that, generally, we - as a nation and a people - are dealing with scientific ethical issues very well. The approach that we have taken so far, that each part of society deserves to be heard is the right one: the opinion of "Joe Public" is as valid as that of an archbishop or a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Science aside, Moira and her friends and family see her as a "normal human being". She reads P.D. James and Morse novels, walks, and looks after an indispensable husband and a Beagle. As she says, "How can you stereotype a scientist? We're just a whole diverse range of personalities with different ways of looking at life."

Moira's work has also been recognised for its importance.  In the 2007 New Years Honours list she was awarded an OBE for her 'services to health'.

Questions - (work on paper) :

1. From what age did Moira know she was going to become a scientist?

2. At which university did Moira become a Professor?

3. Moira is Chief Scientist and Director of Crusade Laboratories.  Briefly describe the work that Crusade Laboratories does.

4. Moira's work has culminated in a modified Herpes Simplex virus that attacks which type of cells?

5. List two types of patients who have been helped by this form of treatment.

6. What evidence is there that Moira was not from an academic background?

7. What advice does Moira give to women working in the world of science?

8. Explain why Moira didn't sleep for four straight nights in October 1997?

9. Was the treatment successful for the patient?

10. In what sense was this treatment a world first?

11. When it comes to ethical issues, a few scientists believe their views are more important than the views of others in society.  What does Moira feel about this?

12. What was Moira awarded at the start of 2007?

13. What does Moira like to do when she is not at work?

Greenock

Inverclyde