Brigid Heywood

Brigid Heywood grew up in the East Riding,[1] Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom.[2] She credits her early focus on science to her father who encouraged an interest in natural science, gave her a microscope at age 10 and instructed her in its use.[3] Early scholarly inspiration came from chemist RJP Williams, a past Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford who, she recalls, presented a lecture on the way in which minerals contribute to body functions.[3]

Heywood earned a BSc. (Hons) in biology from Manchester University and a PhD from Liverpool University[4] focussing on biomineralisation.[5]

Heywood achieved early recognition for her academic scholarship when she was appointed a full professor to a personal Chair in Inorganic Materials Chemistry at Keele University in Staffordshire, United Kingdom in 1996 while in her early thirties.[2][6][7] She held leadership positions as Head of the Chemistry Department (1997–99), Head of the School of Chemistry and Physics (1999-02) and Director of the Office of Research and Enterprise at Keele University from 2003–2005.[8]

She was then appointed Professor of Chemistry at The Open University from 2005 where she remained until 2011.[6] Brigid Heywood served as Assistant Vice Chancellor (Research) at Massey University, New Zealand in 2011,[9][8] and later Assistant Vice Chancellor Research, Academic and Enterprise from 2013–2015. She was Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Tasmania[10] prior to her appointment as Vice Chancellor of the University of New England (UNE), Australia, in 2019.[11][12][13] She was the 14th Vice Chancellor of the University[14] and the third woman in this role, following Ingrid Moses (1997–2005) and Annabelle Duncan (2014–2019).[15]

The Guardian newspaper summarises her substantive scholarly focus and contribution as follows: "her research career developed out of the discipline transition from applied biological sciences to materials chemistry fostered by an initial interest in the controlled growth of inorganic crystals in biological systems, biomineralisation. Subsequently, the application of crystal science to issues ranging from normal and dystrophic mineralisation processes, structure-function relationships in inorganic materials, the development of novel strategies to control crystal formation and the formation of novel, functional inorganic-organic hybrids for drug delivery have evolved as key research topics within her multidisciplinary research programme".[6]

In March 2021, Heywood has 72 documents listed in Scopus, with an h index of 33 and 5273 citations.[16]

• R C Walton; J P Kavanagh; B R Heywood; P N Rao (24 March 2005). "The association of different urinary proteins with calcium oxalate hydromorphs. Evidence for non-specific interactions". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 1723 (1–3): 175–183. doi:10.1016/J.BBAGEN.2005.02.014. ISSN 0006-3002. PMID 15863356. Wikidata Q46465601.
• R P Shellis; B R Heywood; F K Wahab (1 January 1997). "Formation of brushite, monetite and whitlockite during equilibration of human enamel with acid solutions at 37 degrees C.". Caries Research. 31 (1): 71–77. doi:10.1159/000262377. ISSN 0008-6568. PMID 8955998. Wikidata Q64998901.
• Bazylinski DA; Frankel RB; Heywood BR; Mann S; King JW; Donaghay PL; Hanson AK (1 September 1995). "Controlled Biomineralization of Magnetite (Fe(inf3)O(inf4)) and Greigite (Fe(inf3)S(inf4)) in a Magnetotactic Bacterium". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 61 (9): 3232–3239. doi:10.1128/AEM.61.9.3232-3239.1995. ISSN 0099-2240. PMC 1388570. PMID 16535116. Wikidata Q34422937.
• Heywood BR (1 April 1994). "Biomineralization: new directions in crystal science". Microscopy Research and Technique. 27 (5): 376–388. doi:10.1002/JEMT.1070270504. ISSN 1059-910X. PMID 8018990. Wikidata Q46295513.
• Heywood BR; Sparks NH; Shellis RP; Weiner S; Mann S (1 January 1990). "Ultrastructure, morphology and crystal growth of biogenic and synthetic apatites". Connective Tissue Research. 25 (2): 103–119. doi:10.3109/03008209009006985. ISSN 0300-8207. PMID 2175692. Wikidata Q43601010.
• Stephen Mann; Brigid R. Heywood; Sundara Rajam; J. Derek Birchall (August 1988). "Controlled crystallization of CaCO3 under stearic acid monolayers". Nature. 334 (6184): 692–695. doi:10.1038/334692A0. ISSN 1476-4687. Wikidata Q59055341.

Heywood was appointed to the New South Wales Government NSW Innovation and Productivity Council of the NSW Treasury in 2020[17] – this appointment was made by the Governor of NSW for a three-year term.[17]