Ann Clarke (immunologist) explained

Ann G. Clarke (née Jewkes) is a British immunologist and co-founder of the Frozen Ark project.

Career

Clarke's research focused on the immunological relationship between mouse mothers and embryos. For six years she was an Inspector for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

She and her husband, Bryan Clarke, made several scientific expeditions to French Polynesia, where they realised that the partula snail was facing rapid extinction after the introduction of a predator as a biological control for a different species. Inspired by this, they and Anne McLaren (1927–2007) founded the Frozen Ark project to preserve the DNA of species threatened with extinction. the project held some 48,000 frozen samples from 5,500 species.

In 2017 Clarke was the subject of an episode of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific.

Selected publications

• MacKenzie-Dodds . Jacqueline . Clarke . Ann . etal . Recent Initiatives in Biodiversity Biobanking: Summary of Presentations from the ESBB 2012 Conference . Biopreservation and Biobanking . June 2013 . 11 . 3 . 182–188 . 10.1089/bio.2013.0018. 24850096 .
• Lerman . Dominik . Blomeke . Brunhilde . Browne . Robert . Clarke . Ann . etal . Cryobanking of viable biomaterials: implementation of new strategies for conservation purposes . Molecular Ecology . March 2009 . 18 . 6 . 1030–1033 . 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.04062.x. 19207252 .
• Clarke . A. G. . The Frozen Ark Project: the role of zoos and aquariums in preserving the genetic material of threatened animals . International Zoo Yearbook . January 2009 . 43 . 1 . 222–230 . 10.1111/j.1748-1090.2008.00074.x.
• Hetherington . C. M. . Humber . D. P. . Clarke . Ann G. . Genetic and immunological aspects of litter size in the mouse . European Journal of Immunogenetics . August 1976 . 3 . 4 . 245–252 . 10.1111/j.1744-313X.1976.tb00581.x. 789780 .
• Clarke . Ann G. . Hetherington . C. M. . Immunogenetic aspects of maternal-fetal relations . Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. Supplement . April 1972. 15 . 99–118. 4565753 .
• Clarke . Ann G. . Hetherington . C. M. . Effects of Maternal Preimmunization on the Decidual Cell Reaction in Mice . Nature . March 1971 . 230 . 5289 . 114–115 . 10.1038/230114a0. 4927009 .

Personal life

Ann Jewkes married Professor Bryan Clarke (1932–2014) in 1960. They had a daughter and a son.^[1]

Notes and References

1. News: Professor Bryan Clarke - obituary. The Telegraph. 10 February 2020. 2014-03-05.