Dame Anne McLaren

Dame Anne McLaren (born April 26, 1927, London, Eng.—died July 7, 2007, near London) was an English geneticist who pioneered fundamental advances in mammalian genetics and embryology that contributed to a greater understanding of reproductive biology and paved the way for advances in in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments.

McLaren was raised in London and in Bodnant, Wales. She studied zoology at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, receiving a Ph.D. in 1952. That same year, at University College London (UCL) with her husband, Donald Michie, she began fundamental research into the mechanisms driving the embryonic skeletal development of mice. She and Michie then moved to the Royal Veterinary College (1955–59), where she was responsible for the first successful in vitro culture and uterine implantation of mouse embryos, which were succesfully carried to term.

McLaren then carried out significant work in the development of mammalian chimeras at the University of Edinburgh (1959–74). (Chimeras are animals made up of cells that originated from at least two genetically distinct zygotes.) She returned to UCL as director of the Medical Research Council’s Mammalian Development Unit (1974–92), and, following her mandatory retirement, she served as a principal researcher at the Wellcome Trust (1992–2007). In 2004 McLaren cofounded the Frozen Ark, a repository of genetic material from endangered animals intended for both study and potential cloning applications.

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McLaren was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1975. She was the first woman to serve as an officer with the society, first as foreign secretary (1991–96) and then as vice president (1992–96). McLaren was also president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1993–94). She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1993.

She was traveling with Michie—from whom she had amicably divorced in 1959—when they were both killed in a car accident.