The Australian Women's Register

Joyce Fildes was educated at St George’s Girls High School in Kogarah and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney in 1942. She worked as a Research Assistant in the University’s Organic Chemistry Department from 1942 to 1944, then as a microanalyst in the School of Chemistry till 1950.

She joined the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University in September 1950, initially in London, where the head of the department Professor Adrien Albert continued to work in laboratories at the Welcome Research Institution. She undertook research at the University of Birmingham, gaining a Master of Science degree in 1953 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1956. She came to Canberra and was promoted to a Research Fellow position in late 1956 when the new laboratories in the John Curtin School were completed. She established the Microanalytical Service, servicing all medical researchers in the School. She became a Fellow in July 1961.

Her work involved research into the chemical action of drugs, such as anti-malaria drugs and anti-bacterial immunosuppressant drugs to help in surgical grafting.

In 1973, although the Microanalytical Service was transferred to the Research School of Chemistry, Joyce continued to work in the John Curtin School until her retirement in 1982. She provided an endowment to the Australian National University for the Joyce Fildes Honours Scholarship in Medical Science.

She was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2000 for services to the community, particularly through the Zonta Club of Canberra and the ACT Chapter of the Australian Federation of University Women.

Joyce Fildes passed away on 15 November 2013