Although without formal qualifications, Ellinor Someren has made an outstanding contribution in the field of medical entomology, having worked in the Medical Research Laboratories, Nairobi, from 1935 to 1973. During this time Mrs van Someren, by sheer hard work, coupled with an intense interest in the subject, made herself the leading expert in the taxonomy of the Culicidae. Indeed, she carved out such a niche for herself in this specialist field that all other workers throughout that vast continent, one by one gave up any attempt at making the difficult determinations with the continuous influx of new material and came to rely on Mrs van Someren entirely.
In addition to her unique position as the world's leading expert on the classification of this highly important group, she has carried out a number of research projects in collaboration with Professor A J Haddow of Glasgow, Dr C Teesdale, Dr R B Heisch, Professor P S Corbett of Canada, Dr J Hamon of Paris and West Africa, Professor W H R Lumsden of the London School of Tropical Medicine and others. Her published works total 44 in which she appears as sole author in 27 and senior author in a further five.
Mrs van Someren has now retired but she will be rewriting the standard works on her subject during the next few years.
July 1974
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