Margaret Jope was a Scottish biochemist

Biochemist

Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...

, born as Henrietta Margaret Halliday in Peterhead

Peterhead

Peterhead is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement , with a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

She took her degree in chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

 at Aberdeen University, and her D.Phil.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 at Somerville College, Oxford

Somerville College, Oxford

Somerville College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there...

. She met her future husband Martyn Jope

Martyn Jope

Edward Martyn Jope was an English archaeologist and chemist. He worked temporarily during the Second World War as a biochemist. Following the war, he returned to working in archaeology, first as a medievalist and later as a prehistorian.- Life and Career :Martyn Jope studied at Oriel College, Oxford...

 while working at the Dyson Perrins Laboratory

Dyson Perrins Laboratory

The Dyson Perrins Laboratory in the science area of the University of Oxford was the main centre for research into organic chemistry of the University from its foundation in 1916 until its closure as a laboratory in 2003...

 at Oxford University. After they were married, Margaret accompanied Martyn to Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, where he later became Professor of Archaeology

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

 at Queen's University

Queen's University

Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...

.

Margaret continued her research while at Belfast, in the Geology

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 Department, where she worked primarily on brachiopod

Brachiopod

Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection...

s, especially on their shell protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

. Her other research interests included the crystallisation of haemoglobin

Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of all vertebrates, with the exception of the fish family Channichthyidae, as well as the tissues of some invertebrates...

, and working with Martyn, made studies of animal bones, especially bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 bones, at archaeological sites mainly in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 and Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

.

Papers on Brachiopods

• H M Jope, "Composition of Brachiopod Shell", "Treatise on Invertebrate Palaeontology", ed. R C Moore, Brachiopoda, vol H, University of Kansas Press?, 1965, p H156–H164.

• H M Jope, "The Protein of Brachiopod Shell I: Amino acid composition and implied protein taxonomy", Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 20 (1967), p 593–600.

• H M Jope, "The protein of Brachiopod Shell II: Shell protein from fossil articulates: amino acid composition", Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 20 (1967), p 601–605.

• H M Jope, "The Protein of Brachiopod Shell III: Comparison with structural protein of soft tissue", Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 30 (1969), p 209–224.

• H M Jope, "The Protein of Brachiopod Shell IV: Shell protein from fossil inarticulates: amino acid composition and Disc Electrophoresis of fossil articulate shell protein", Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 30 (1969), p 225–232.

• H M Jope, "Constituents of Brachiopod Shells", Comprehensive Biochemistry, ed. M Florkin and E H Stotz, 26C (1971), p 749–784.

• H M Jope, "The Protein of Brachiopod Shell V: N-terminal End Groups", Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 45B (1973), p 17–24.

• H M Jope, "Brachiopod Shell Proteins: Their functions and taxonomic significance", American Zoology, 17 (1977), p 133–140.

• H M Jope, "The Protein of Brachiopod Shell VI: C Terminal end groups and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis: molecular constitution and structure of the protein", Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 63B (1979), p 163–173.

• H M Jope, "Phylogenetic Information derivable from Fossil Brachiopods", Biogeochemistry of Amino Acids, ed. P E Hare, Wiley, 1980, p 83–94.

• H M Jope, "Evolution of Brachiopods: The Molecular Approach", Les Brachiopoda, Fossils et Actuels, ed. P R Racheboeuf and C C Emig, Brest, 1985, p 103–111.