A Trailblazer in Zoology
This article was originally written and submitted as part of a Canada 150 Project, the Innovation Storybook, to crowdsource stories of Canadian innovation with partners across Canada. The content has since been migrated to Ingenium’s Channel, a digital hub featuring curated content related to science, technology and innovation.
A Trailblazer in Zoology
During her long career at Western University, zoologist Helen Battle pioneered the use of fertilized fish eggs to study the effects of pollutants on aquatic life and drinking water, and of carcinogenic substances on cell growth. In 1928, Battle was the first woman in Canada awarded a PhD in Marine Biology, and she was subsequently named one of 19 outstanding women scientists by the national Museum of Natural Science in 1975.
Western University
Founded in 1878, we deliver ‘The Western Experience’, an exemplary learning experience that engages the best and brightest people challenging them to meet ever-higher standards in the classroom and beyond.
We inform every dimension of a student – intellectual, social, cultural as well as physical. From our home in London, Ont., Canada, outward across every continent, Western prepares future leaders to succeed.
