• Entry type: Person
  • Entry ID: AWE3718

Mackerras, Mabel Josephine (Jo)

  • Maiden name Bancroft, Jo
(1896 – 1971)
  • Born 7 August, 1896, Deception Bay Queensland Australia
  • Died 8 October, 1971
  • Occupation Scientist

Summary

Jo Mackerras was an entomologist and parasitologist who began research into fly-borne diseases in cattle and fatal epizootics in fresh-water fish in 1918, with the help of a Walter and Eliza Hall Fellowship. With her husband Ian Mackerras, she joined CSIR’s Division of Economic Entomology in Canberra in 1929. From 1943 she was at the Land Headquarters Medical Research Unit in Cairns, where she led pioneering research into malaria control. Post-war, Mackerras worked again at CSIR, this time at Yeerongpilly, as a parasitologist. The lungworm, A. Mackerrasae, was named after her, and she specialised in Australian cockroaches.

Published resources