Scientist of the day : Dr. Janet Elizabeth Lane-Claypon

Dr. Janet Elizabeth Lane-Claypon was an English physician who was as one of the founders of epidemiology and was also a pioneer in the use of cohort as well as case-control studies. Educated primarily at home until she entered University College at the age of twenty-two, she went on to earn both PhD and MD within a short span of time. This made her an early example of the ‘Doctor-doctor’ phenomenon. Later, she began her career in research, working first on the bacteriology and biochemistry of milk and subsequently on the effect of the ‘Poor Law’ on the children. By working with two cohorts of babies, she established that breast-fed babies gained weight faster than babies fed with cow’s milk. Moreover, the work enabled her to refute the general belief that heating destroys the nutritious value of milk. Subsequently, she began to advocate reforms in child care, midwifery training and parental services. Later, she moved to the field of epidemiologic research, dealing mainly with the cancer of the breast and developed the ‘case-control study.’ She also researched on cancers of uterus, lip, tongue and skin. In addition to that, she had thirty-two publications to her name

Childhood & Early Life

• Janet Elizabeth Lane-Claypon was born on 3 February 1877 in Boston, Lincolnshire, UK.
•  Her father, William Ward Lane-Claypon was a wealthy banker and a magistrate. Her mother was Edith Stow Lane-Claypon.

Major Works:

Janet Lane Claypon is best remembered for her 1926 publication, ‘A Further Report on the Cancer of the Breast with Special Reference to Its Associated Antecedents’. Today, it is considered to be the first case‐control study, containing the first published epidemiologic questionnaire.

Personal Life & Legacy:

• In 1929, Janet Lane-Claypon married Sir Edward Rudolph Forber after a long period of 
• courtship. As was the practice in those times, she left her successful career soon after her wedding and settled in Seaford, Sussex, with her husband. Her last paper was published in her married name.
• At Seaford, she lived for several years, leading a quiet domestic life. She died there on 
• 17 July 1967, at the age 90.