Muriel Emma Bell was a New Zealand nutritionist and medical researcher.
17 Facts About Muriel Bell
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Muriel Bell's father remarried in 1909, and Jessie McNee became Muriel Bell's stepmother.
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Muriel Bell encouraged Bell in her education, and Bell studied first at Nelson Girls' Central School and then Nelson College for Girls, where she became Head Girl.
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Muriel Bell's thesis was on basal metabolism in goitre and contributed to the introduction of iodised salt, as her research showed that increasing the level of iodine in the diet was an effective protection against the illness.
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In 1922, Muriel Bell was appointed Assistant Lecturer in Physiology, and the following year became a lecturer in Physiology, at Otago Medical School.
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In 1929, Muriel Bell received the William Gibson Research Scholarship for Medical Women of the British Empire, which enabled her to study bush sickness in sheep with the newly formed DSIR.
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Muriel Bell became interested in soil deficiencies at this time.
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In 1935, Muriel Bell returned to Dunedin and took a position lecturing physiology and experimental pharmacology at Otago Medical School.
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Muriel Bell served on the Board of Health, where she was the only woman board member.
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In 1940, Muriel Bell was appointed the first Nutrition Officer in the Department of Health and held this position until retiring in 1964.
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Muriel Bell held the position of Director of Nutrition Research at Otago Medical School for the same period of time.
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Muriel Bell researched the vitamin content of New Zealand-grown vegetables, fruit, fish and cereals, and encouraged New Zealanders to eat more fruit and vegetables.
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An early project for Muriel Bell was to supervise the joint publication of a textbook on nutrition by the Otago Medical School, the Department of Health and the Medical Research Council.
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Muriel Bell was a founding member of the Central Milk Council, a watchdog body formed in 1945 to address problems in the industry which had been revealed in an inquiry the previous year.
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Muriel Bell was successful and from 1958 was a member of the Fluoridation Committee of the Department of Health.
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Muriel Bell remained active on the Milk Council until her death, and when she died on 2 May 1974, she had been working on an article on the karaka berry.
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Muriel Bell was married twice: first to James Saunders, from 1928 to his death in 1940; and secondly to Alfred Hefford, from 1942 to his death in 1957.