Person
Andrews, Shirley (1915 - 2001)
OAM
- Born
- 6 November 1915
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 14 September 2001
- Occupation
- Biochemist
Summary
Shirley Andrews was Senior Biochemist at the Royal Park Psychiatric Hospital in Victoria from 1954 to 1977. She was responsible for developing ways to safely use lithium to treat manic depressive illnesses and discovered that bromureide drugs, a widely used tranquiliser, caused mental illness symptoms. This lead to a major reduction in the use of bromureide drugs.
Andrews was also involved in the early struggle for equal rights for Aborigines and was a founding member and secretary of the Council for Aboriginal Rights (Victoria) - Australia's first such organisation. She also had a great passion for dance and music, performing in many ballets and dances and was a founding member of the Victorian Bush Music Club (later known as the Victorian Folk Music Club).
Details
Chronology
- 1937
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne
- 1939 - 1946
- Career position - Caroline Kaye Scholar in Veterinary Biochemistry at the Veterinary Research Institute, University of Melbourne
- 1947 - 1953
- Career position - Biochemist at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
- 1954 - 1977
- Career position - Senior Biochemist at Royal Park Psychiatric Hospital, Melbourne
- 1994
- Award - Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) - for service to Australian folklore
Related entries
Colleague
Archival resources
National Library of Australia Oral History Collection
- Interview with Shirley Andrews, former biochemist and folk dance teacher [sound recording] / Interviewer, Wendy Lowenstein., 1993 - 1994, ORAL TRC 3111/1; Series: Communists and the Left in the arts and community oral history project; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
Published resources
Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions
- McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Exhibition of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, First published 2003 with lists updated regulary edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, 2003, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/wisa/wisa.html. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q28935819. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/91234135. Details
- 'Andrews, Shirley (-2001)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-458159. Details
Annette Alafaci
Created: 7 September 2005, Last modified: 7 February 2011