Marion Lewis

Marion Jean Lewis OC OM FRSC (born 1925 in Windsor, Ontario) is a Canadian medical researcher, known for her work on the Rh factor^[1][2] and on the Duffy antigen system.^[3]

Career

Lewis graduated from Winnipeg's Gordon Bell High School in 1943. She was trained as a medical technician at Winnipeg General Hospital. In 1944, the pediatric pathologist Bruce Chown, assisted by Lewis, opened the Rh Laboratory in Winnipeg to study and eradicate Rh disease.^[2][1] Their research led to effective treatments and a vaccine that prevents Rh disease.^[4][5]

In 1950–51, Lewis spent four months at an Italian university studying the Italian language and culture. She then spent another three months studying in London under world-renowned ‘blood groupers’ Robert Race and Ruth Sanger. In 1951, she returned to Winnipeg and the Rh lab.^[1] From 1952 and 1960, Chown and Lewis made annual trips, visiting Canadian tribal groups, including the Blackfoot and Cree, to test their blood for Rh factors. They also tested Inuit at Kugluktuk and Southampton Island and Hutterites in Manitoba.^[1]

While Chown retired in 1977, Lewis continued on in the field of blood group gene mapping and eventually branched out into the field of genetics. She and her colleagues at the Rh Laboratory, including Hiroko Kaita, became internationally renowned for their work.^[1]

In the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Manitoba's the Faculty of Medicine, Lewis was an assistant professor from 1973 to 1977, an associate professor from 1977 to 1984, and a full professor from 1984 to 1996, when she retired as professor emerita.^[1] She is the author or co-author of more than 140 articles.^[4]

On 27 June 2019, Lewis was appointed as an Officer to the Order of Canada for her contributions to the prevention and treatment of Rh disease.^[6][7] In 2020, Lewis was appointed as a member of the Order of Manitoba.^[8]

Awards and honours

• 1971 — Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award of the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)
• 1986 — honorary D.Sc. from the University of Winnipeg
• 1993 — election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
• 1996 — Emily Cooley Memorial Award of the AABB
• 2019 — Officer of the Order of Canada
• 2020 — Member of the Order of Manitoba

References

1. "Dr. Marion Lewis". University of Manitoba Libraries.
2. "Winnipeg Rh Laboratory". University of Manitoba Libraries.
3. Chown, Bruce; Lewis, Marion Lewis; Kaita, Hiroko (1965). "The Duffy blood group system in Caucasians: evidence for a new allele". American Journal of Human Genetics. 17 (5): 384–389. PMC 1932660. PMID 14334737.
4. Herstory 2009: The Canadian Women's Calendar. July 2008. p. 102. ISBN 9781550503890.
5. Bowman, J. M.; Chown, B.; Lewis, M.; Pollock, J. M. (1978). "Rh isoimmunization during pregnancy: antenatal prophylaxis". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 118 (6): 623–627. PMC 1818025. PMID 77714.
6. General, Office of the Secretary to the Governor (2019-06-20). "Governor General Announces 83 New Appointments to the Order of Canada". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
7. "2019 Order of Canada appointees have made their mark on all aspects of Canadian society". Retrieved 2019-06-27.
8. "Outstanding Manitobans chosen to receive the Order of Manitoba". Government of Manitoba. September 10, 2020.