Alison Brading

Alison Brading (26 February 1939 - 7 January 2011) was a British scientist who studied the physiology and pharmacology of smooth muscle, particularly in the urinary tract.

Alison Brading was born in Bexhill-on-Sea and educated at The Maynard School, Exeter, where she excelled academically and in sport, winning the Victor ludorum.^[2][3] While visiting her parents in Nigeria as a teenager, she acquired poliomyelitis,^[4] the side effects of which she lived with throughout her life. She was only saved by an iron lung, introduced to Nigeria by her father Brigadier Norman Brading.^[3]

An 18-month period of recovery in the Wingfield Hospital (Oxford; now Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre)^[5] from the acute phase of her illness meant that she was unable to accept a position to study Medicine at the University of Oxford. Instead, she studies zoology at the University of Bristol, graduating with a 1st class honours degree. She continued in Bristol, gaining a PhD exploring the function of muscle in the tapeworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), under the supervision of Peter Caldwell.

In 1965, she moved to the University of Oxford to work with Edith Bülbring, being appointed as fellow and tutor in physiology at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford in 1968, lecturer in pharmacology in 1972 and a professor in 1996.^[4]

Her research focussed on the function of smooth muscle, particularly that which controls the contraction of the urinary bladder and urethra. Her early work focussed on the role of ions (particularly chloride) in the regulation of smooth muscle, developing new ways to measure the concentration of ions inside cells.^[3]

中期には、平滑筋を弛緩させる薬、特にカリウムチャネル活性化薬の機能を研究し、オックスフォードの泌尿器外科医と重要な関係を築き、オックスフォード失禁グループを結成した。^{[ 3 ]}後期の研究は、不安定膀胱、膀胱流出路閉塞、肛門括約筋機能（特に一酸化窒素の役割）、尿失禁の維持における骨盤底の役割、および泌尿生殖器系における間質細胞（カハール細胞）の役割に関するものであった。^{[ 3 ] [ 6 ]}

晩年、彼女はオックスフォードシャー州スラップの運河のそばに住み、家族や友人、同僚の助けを借りて自分のナローボートを操縦していた。^{[ 2 ]}

アリソンはポリオ後症候群を発症し、自力で立つことが困難になり、加齢とともに呼吸困難が悪化した。科学研究​​に積極的に取り組んでいた彼女は、2010年9月に肺炎にかかり、数ヶ月にわたる入院生活にもかかわらず、ポリオ後症候群による衰弱が続いたためか、克服することができなかった。伝記作家が書いたように、^{[ 3 ]}

まさに戦士の女王としての役割は彼女にふさわしいものだった。男女を率いるリーダーであり、自分の世話をする人々を力強く守り支え、鋭い洞察力と批判的な判断力を持つ人物だった。明るく楽観的で、強い独立心を持ち、有能で率直な彼女は、科学者や臨床医の友人たちには特別な愛情を注いでいた。