Interview with Professor Shirley Hodgson, conducted by Professor Tilli Tansey, for the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group, 04 November 2015, in the School of History, Queen Mary University of London. Transcribed by Mrs Debra Gee, and edited by Ms Emma M. Jones, Professor Tilli Tansey and Dr Apostolos Zarros. The project management and the technical support (filming and production) were undertaken by Mr Adam Wilkinson and Mr Alan Yabsley, respectively.
Professor Shirley Hodgson BSc BM BC DM D(Obst)RCOG FRCP DCH FRSB (b. 1945) began her career as a Paediatrician and General Practitioner. She became a Registrar in Clinical Genetics at Guy’s Hospital, 1980, and worked with Professor Victor Dubowitz at the Hammersmith Hospital on muscular dystrophy whilst doing the work for her DM Thesis. She became a Consultant in Clinical Genetics at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in 1988, and Consultant/Reader in Clinical Genetics at Guy’s in 1990. She specialised in cancer genetics from 1989, working with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK), developing regional cancer genetics services at Guy's, St. Mark’s and St. George’s Hospitals in London. In 2003 she was appointed Professor of Cancer Genetics at St. George’s, University of London, now Emerita, and has part-time Consultant status in Leicester. Her research investigated inherited aspects of cancer predisposition, she has published widely on the subject, and co-authored several books, including 'Inherited Susceptibility to Cancer' (Foulkes and Hodgson (eds), 1998), and 'A Practical Guide to Human Cancer Genetics' (Hodgson and Maher, 1993), now into its fourth edition with W. Foulkes and C. Eng as co-authors (Springer).
The History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group is funded by the Wellcome Trust, which is a registered charity (no. 210183). The current interview has been funded by the Wellcome Trust Strategic Award entitled “Makers of modern biomedicine: testimonies and legacy” (2012-2017; awarded to Professor Tilli Tansey).
The interview is part of the History of the Modern Biomedicine Interviews (Digital Collection).
Access to the transcript of this video interview and its related material:
History of Modern Biomedicine Interviews (Digital Collection), items e2016010-e2016019.
Example of how to cite: Tansey E M (intvr); Yabsley A (prod) (2016) Hodgson, Shirley: 01 - How and why did you become interested in science? (04-Nov-2015). History of Modern Biomedicine Interviews (Digital Collection), item e2016011. London: Queen Mary University of London.
Note: Video interviews are conducted following standard oral history methodology, and have received ethical approval (reference QMREC 0642). Video interview transcripts are edited only for clarity and factual accuracy. Related material has been deposited in the Wellcome Library.
© The Trustee of the Wellcome Trust, London, 2016
Professor Hodgson has also contributed to several Witness Seminars, including, Clinical genetics in Britain: Origins and development (2010); Clinical cancer genetics: Polyposis and familial colorectal cancer c.1975–c.2010 (2013); Medical genetics: development of ethical dimensions in clinical practice and research (2016); Therapeutic implications of muscular dystrophy genomics (forthcoming).
