Marian Packham

Marian Aitchison Packham is Professor Emerita in biochemistry at University of Toronto. Her research is devoted to the biochemical and physiological activity of blood platelets.

Marian Packham
Born	1927
Known for	biochemistry of platelets
Scientific career
Institutions	University of Toronto

Education

Packham studied Biochemistry at the University of Toronto, obtaining her BA in 1949 and completing her doctorate in 1954.[1]

Career

Packham worked part-time in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto for 11 years, while raising her children.[1]

Marian Packham began her research on blood platelets at Ontario Veterinary College in 1963. This was the beginning of her long collaboration with Dr. J. Fraser Mustard. She continued to work with him in 1965 and 1966 at the Blood and Vascular Disease Research Unit at the University of Toronto, where they collaborated on some early investigations of the effect of aspirin to inhibit platelet aggregation.[2]

In 1966, Packham rejoined the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto, where she remained for the rest of her career. She became a full professor in 1989. From 1966 to 2003 she also held a visiting Professorship in Pathology at McMaster University, where she continued to work with Mustard’s team. Her research examined the biochemistry and physiology of blood platelets and their role in hemostasis and arterial thrombosis.[1]

Retirement

After retiring she continued active research as Professor Emerita for six years. She also wrote a history of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto[3] and a brief biography of Fraser Mustard.[4][5]

Awards

In 1988 she shared the J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine with Fraser Mustard. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1991, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Ryerson Polytechnic University in 1997. She received an Arbor Award from the University of Toronto in 2008.[6]

References

1. "Marian Packham". Senior College Encyclopedia, University of Toronto. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
2. Evans, Geoffrey; Packham, Marian A.; Nishizawa, Edward E.; Mustard, James F.; Murphy, Edmund A. (31 October 1968). "The effect of acetylsalicyclic acid on platelet function". The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 128 (5): 877–94. doi:10.1084/jem.128.5.877. PMC 2138560. PMID 4176225.
3. Packham, 100 Years of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto 1908-2008, 2008
4. Packham, J. Fraser Mustard : Connections & Careers, 2010.
5. "New biography of Dr. Fraser Mustard: "connections and careers"". University of Toronto Media Room. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
6. "Marian A. Packham receives the Arbor Award 2008". University of Toronto. Retrieved 12 August 2018.

Bibliography

• Packham, Marian (2008). 100 Years of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto: An Illustrated History 1908-2008. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
• Packham, Marian A (2010). J. Fraser Mustard : Connections & Careers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-7727-1702-3.