This biographical brief outlines the remarkable life and career of British biochemist Marjory
Stephenson (1885-1948). In nine concise chapters Strbánová describes Stephenson's scientific
accomplishments and sets these against the socio-political challenges of the time. Stephenson
played an important role in the development of biochemistry and molecular biology. She was one
of the first scientists to use microorganisms as models for research into cellular biochemical
processes and their regulation. Later she went on to coin the term chemical microbiology which
was communicated in her monograph and textbook Bacterial Metabolism (1930-1949). Stephenson
also actively participated in the establishment of the institutionalized interdisciplinary
field of general microbiology which integrated research into diverse forms of microorganisms at
various levels of organization. Alongside these scientific achievements Strbánová outlines
Stephenson's constant battle with practices of undeclared discrimination her important role as
one of the first women science managers and organizers and her influential position within the
scientific community. A scientist of great merit and a role model to women scientists of all
disciplines the life of Marjory Stephenson is of interest to biochemists molecular biologists
historians of the chemical and biological sciences and women scientists of all generations.
