Marion Webster

Marion Elizabeth Webster-Bukovsky (née Webster; April 9, 1921 − July 6, 1985) was a Canadian-American biochemist who was the first to isolate the Vi antigen of typhoid and to determine its structure. She published extensively on the kinin–kallikrein system while at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Webster was an advocate for women in science and served as president of the Association for Women in Science and Graduate Women in Science.

Career and research
After graduating from Florida State University, Webster joined a team of scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture who developed DDT as an insecticide. She then joined the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and earned a Ph.D. at Georgetown University. Her 1950 dissertation was titled, The Purification of Vi Antigen from Salmonella Coli. Webster was the first to isolate the Vi antigen of typhoid and to determine its structure. Joining NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in 1958, Webster published extensively on the kinin–kallikrein system.

An advocate for women in science, Webster believed in helping other women develop their careers, so she served as president of the Association for Women in Science and Graduate Women in Science. Webster was a member of the American Chemical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association of Clinical Chemists, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, American Physiological Society, International Society for Biochemical Pharmacology, New York Academy of Sciences, and the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine.

Personal life
Marion Elizabeth Webster was born in Ottawa on April 9, 1921. She married Alexis P. Bukovsky. Webster moved from Washington, D.C., to Winter Park, Florida, in 1976. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church and Virginia Heights Association in Winter Park. She served as a member the Winter Park Housing Authority Commission. Webster died on July 6, 1985, in Winter Park. She was survived by her husband and brothers, Bruce S. Webster of North Fort Myers, Florida, and Donald A. Webster of Ottawa. Webster was buried at Palm Cemetery in Florida.