# Margaret Brimble

Dame Margaret Anne Brimble DNZM FRS (née MacMillan; born 20 August 1961) is a New Zealand chemist. Her research has included investigations of shellfish toxins and means to treat brain injuries.

## Early life, family, and education

Brimble was born in Auckland on 20 August 1961, the daughter of Mary Anne MacMillan (née Williamson) and Herbert MacMillan, and was encouraged by her grandmother to value education. She attended Diocesan School for Girls, Auckland from 1972 to 1978, and was dux in her final year.
She went on to study chemistry at the University of Auckland from 1979 to 1983, graduating Bachelor of Science in 1982 and Master of Science with first-class honours in 1983. She was awarded a New Zealand Commonwealth scholarship to undertake a PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Southampton.

## Career and research

Brimble holds the Chair of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Auckland and is also a Principal Investigator in the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery.

## Awards and honours

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Brimble was the first New Zealander to receive the L'Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science, and the second woman to receive the Rutherford medal.
Brimble was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to science in the 2004 New Year Honours. In the 2012 New Year Honours, she was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, also for services to science. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2018. In the 2019 New Year Honours, she was promoted to Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to science.
In 2014, Brimble received the Science and Innovation Award at the New Zealand Women of Influence Awards.
In 2017, Brimble was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.
In 2023, Brimble received the Ernest Guenther Award in Chemistry of Natural Products
| Year | Award | Awarded by | Description |
| 2016 | Marsden Medal | New Zealand Association of Scientists | |
| 2012 | Rutherford Medal | Royal Society of New Zealand | world-leading contributions to the synthesis of bioactive natural products and novel peptides with wide applications across the life sciences industry |
| 2012 | Hector Medal | Royal Society of New Zealand | sustained outstanding research in the field of organic chemistry, notably her impressive research in the field of natural products synthesis and the development of new synthetic methodology. |
| 2012 | MacDiarmid Medal | Royal Society of New Zealand | pioneering the design, synthesis and clinical development of a small molecule drug candidate that shows promise for significantly reducing the impact of traumatic brain injury. |
| 2011 | Adrien Albert Award | Royal Australian Chemical Institute | |
| 2010 | Natural Product Chemistry Award | Royal Society of Chemistry | outstanding contributions to the synthesis of natural products and their analogues |
| 2008 | World Class New Zealand Award | Kea and NZ Trade & Enterprise | Research, Science, Technology & Academia |
| 2007 | Women in Science Asia-Pacific Laureate in Materials Science | L'Oreal-UNESCO | contributions to the synthesis of complex natural products, especially shellfish toxins. |
| 2005 | HortResearch Prize for Excellence in the Chemical Sciences | NZIC | |
| 2004 | James Cook Research Fellowship | Royal Society of New Zealand | |
| 2003-4 | UK Royal Society Rosalind Franklin International Lectureship | | internationally recognised and successful women scientists |
| 2003-4 | Novartis Chemistry Lecture Award | | outstanding contributions in natural product synthesis and development of new synthetic methodology |
| 2001 | Federation of Asian Chemical Societies Distinguished Chemist Award | | |
| 1996 | Ian Potter Foundation Research Award | University of Sydney | |
| 1992 | Hamilton Memorial Prize | Royal Society of New Zealand | |
| 1992 | Easterfield Medal | New Zealand Institute of Chemistry | |

## Personal life

In 1981, she married Mark Timothy Brimble.