| Date and Place of
Birth: |
Irene Ayako Uchida was born in Vancouver,
BC on April 8, 1917. |
| Studies
& Mission: |
As a young girl, she enjoyed music
and played the organ, piano and violin. The untimely
death of her older sister Sachiko, from tuberculosis
in 1933, inspired Uchida to spend the rest of her life
helping others, and it was then she decided she would
take up social work. "Education was a priority
in the Uchida household", and in 1946, she earned
a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University
of Toronto, with the intention of returning to pursue
a Master's degree in social work. However, after taking
one introductory course in genetics, one of her professors
was so favorably impressed, she successfully persuaded
Uchida to enter the field of genetics. |
| |
"Eager to rise to the challenges
presented to her in life", Uchida received her
Ph.D. in Human Genetics in 1951 and shortly thereafter
began her career as a research associate at the Hospital
for Sick Children in Toronto. Her work in genetics primarily
focused on the study of twins and children with Down
syndrome, a birth defect in which a person is born with
three copies of chromosome 21, and the most common severe
birth defect at the time. In 1959, Uchida moved to Winnipeg,
Manitoba and shifted her attention to human chromosomes,
becoming "one of the first Canadian scientists
to work in the field of Cytogenetics", the study
of chromosomes in cells. |
| Achievements:
|
In 1960, she was appointed Director
of the Department of Medical Genetics at the Children's
Hospital in Winnipeg, and began teaching at the University
of Manitoba. She performed several research studies
on human chromosomes to determine if there was a link
between pregnant women who received large doses of radiation
from X-rays, and the incidence of Down syndrome in their
babies. After extensive study, Uchida obtained evidence
to suggest that indeed there was a connection between
exposure to radiation and the occurrence of Down syndrome.
|
| |
As a result of her discovery, she received
national and international acclaim for her research
on the effects of radiation on human chromosomes and
in the 1960's, Uchida's pioneering work in diagnosing
and studying the causes of Down syndrome resulted in
a significant contribution to the medical sciences,
and opened the way to further research into the possible
causes of birth defects and other chromosome abnormalities.
|
In 1970, Uchida founded and directed the Cytogenetics Laboratory
at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where she also
initiated a genetics-counseling program. From 1991-1995, she
was Director of Cytogenetics at the Oshawa General Hospital,
where she helped diagnose genetic diseases and chromosome
abnormalities in unborn fetuses. In 1993, Uchida was made
an Officer in the Order of Canada. As a Professor Emeritus
of the Department of Pediatrics and Pathology at McMaster
University, Uchida, although retired, continues to maintain
an interest in research into the causes of birth defects,
and work with families of Down syndrome children.
| Favourite Food:
Japanese.
Favourite Music:
Classical.
Inspiration as a teenager:
My aunt, who was the first Japanese Canadian to study
at UBC.
|
Favourite Subject
in High School:
English.
Hobbies when younger:
Watching the Japanese Canadian baseball team, the Asahi,
play.
|
Credo:
"Science is a rewarding and challenging career.
Young people going into science must keep an open mind
to all ideas in an effort to find every possible way
to help people."
"Seeing the invisible: the story of Dr. Irene Uchida"
by Terry Watada |
|
|
