Ida Mann
| Ida Mann | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 6 February 1893 West Hampstead, London |
| Died | 18 November 1983 Perth, Western Australia |
| Fields | Ophthalmology |
| Institutions | University of Oxford |
| Alma mater | London School of Medicine for Women |
Dame Ida Caroline Mann, DBE, FRCS (6 February 1893 in West Hampstead, London – 18 November 1983) 'a distinguished ophthalmologist...equally well known for her pioneering research work on embryology and development of the eye, and on the influences of genetic and social factors on the incidence and severity of eye disease throughout the world'. She was inducted into the Ophthalmology Hall of Fame in 2007.
She diagnosed a trachoma epidemic amongst Indigenous people in the Kimberleys and travelled extensively in Western Australia to examine and treat Indigenous people with trachoma. Mann became convinced that better housing and sanitation, rather than administration of antibiotics, would improve this health crisis.
Ida Caroline Mann was educated at Wycombe House School, Hampstead, London. She passed the Civil Service Girl Clerk's examination and took a job at the Post Office Savings Bank. Despite opposition from her father, she applied to study medicine at the London School of Medicine for Women, the only medical school which was open to women at that time. She passed the matriculation examination in 1914, one of only eight women out of hundreds of passes. She completed her studies, 'with no trouble and intense delight' (Mann: The Chase), and qualified Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB, BS) in 1920.
After qualification she had no clear idea about specialising and applied for all available positions as a houseman (a junior role for newly qualified doctors). She was appointed as the Ophthalmic House Surgeon at St Mary's Hospital, London, under Leslie Paton and Frank Juler. Thus began a lifelong passion for ophthalmic research and practice. During her medical studies she had developed an interest in embryology, working alongside Professor J.E.S. Frazer. Now she combined this interest with ophthalmology and wrote her thesis on the embryology of the human eye, for which she was awarded her D.Sc. in 1924. To further her career she qualified in general surgery, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1924. Only six other women were Fellows at this time.
Mann was ambitious and determined to reach the top in her chosen field. To her this meant securing an honorary staff post at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, and running her own private practice on Harley Street, London. She had achieved both by 1927: a remarkably swift rise for a woman in a male-dominated field. Her stepping stones had been the following posts: Junior Clinical Assistant at Moorfields (1921); staff appointment at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital for Women (1922); Senior Clinical Assistant to Mr. A.C. Hudson at Moorfields (1922); Pathologist and Assistant Surgeon to Mr. Ernest Lane at the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital (1925); staff appointment at the Central London Eye Hospital (1925).
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