This year Medical Genetics conference 2024 (ADMG24) was hosted at Newnham College on 1st July, and as part of the conference we put on an exhibition on the role played by the Newnham Mendelians in the early days of genetics.
Guests were given the opportunity to examine artifacts and letters from the women who performed the earliest genetics experiments in England. The Newnham archivist had also managed to unearth Edith Saunders “degree certificate”. It was gratifying to see the women who gave the world such core terminology such as “allele”, “epistasis” and “homozygous” getting the limelight they deserve.
We had intended to have the flowers used in their experiments in show, but the wet British summer meant we just managed to have a few pea flowers emerging in time.
For those visitors to this website wishing to know more, we thoroughly recommend Newnham alumna Jasmine Charles’ piece in Varsity several years ago.
A big congratulations to everyone involved on pulling the exhibition off, a collective effort across the department.
Chronomic Medicine Group 