Mar 022024
 

Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library, Thomas Bayes Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FG

A multi-storey modern building with wooden panelling, numerous glass windows, and a sign over the door reading “The Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library”.

Noreen Murray, or Lady Murray (1935 – 2011) was a molecular geneticist who pioneered genetic engineering. She held a personal chair in molecular genetics at the University of Edinburgh and was president of the Genetical Society and vice president of the Royal Society. Murray published many notable papers during her lifetime, most of which were single-author publications. She worked with her husband, Sir Kenneth Murray, to develop a vaccine against hepatitis B, which became the first genetically engineered vaccine approved for human use. Murray was noted for being attentive to the careers of women around her and became a mentor to them, encouraging other women in STEM to excel. She was awarded a CBE, among various other accolades, and the Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library in King’s Buildings was named in her honour. There is a memorial tree across from the library entrance in the grassy area. Also on the King’s Buildings campus, the Darwin Trust of Edinburgh, a charity founded by Noreen and her husband, Kenneth.

A sepia head-and-shoulders photo (circa 1950s or 1960s) of a smiling woman with light curls under a dark hat, wearing a dark coat with a white polka dot collar.
An image taken through a microscope with a blue background and three red and orange viruses.  To the left there is an injection vial reading ‘hepatitis B vaccine’.

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