Born: 6 September 1890, Australia
Died: 18 May 1953
Country most active: Australia
Also known as: Hilda Florey
This biography has been shared from The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, published by the Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Hilda Gardner was a pioneer of laboratory medicine in Australia, with a particular interest in infections and infectious diseases. After periods of residency at hospitals in Adelaide and at the Women’s Hospital in Melbourne, she was appointed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital where she spent the rest of her career. From her small laboratory in the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute she did all the bacteriology and haematology for the Hospital. Gardner also taught clinical pathology at the Hospital. She is remembered for having trained a generation of pathologists and physicians. Gardner was instrumental in initiating the formal training of laboratory technicians under the auspices of Australian Institution of Medical Laboratory Technicians.
Chronology
1912
Education – MB BS, University of Adelaide
1929 – 1934
Career position – Assistant Bacteriologist, Melbourne Hospital
1934 –
Career position – Clinical Pathologist, Royal Melbourne Hospital
1951
Career position – Fellow, Royal Australian College of Physicians