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Celia Mary Oakley (married name Pridie) (14 May 1931 -17 November 2014) was a British cardiologist. In addition to her notable contributions to clinical practice, she is also known for her role in founding the European Society of Cardiology.

Early life and education
Celia Mary Oakley was born on 14th May 1931 in Bishop's Castle, Shropshire, to Arthur Howard Oakley and Minnie Isabel Oakley. She attended Berkhamsted School before studying medicine at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, and qualified in 1954.

Career
From 1953 to 1957 Oakley worked as house physician and house surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine. She worked as house physician under Paul Wood at Brompton Hospital in 1958, and then spent a year working at the National Hospital, Queens Square. Oakley then began work at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School at Hammersmith Hospital, beginning with a registrar post under John Goodwin, and where she was part of the team that coined the term ‘hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy’.

Two years later Oakley went on Medical Research Council fellowship at the University of Rochester, resulting in her MD thesis on pulmonary blood volume in humans and a coauthored article on regulatory mechanisms in the pulmonary vascular bed.

On her return from the US, Oakley became a consultant and worked with Goodwin on the development of the cardiopulmonary bypass and open heart surgery, which was pioneered at the Hammersmith. In the 1960s Oakley spent five years researching congenital heart disease in children, with funding received from the British Heart Foundation. Other areas which she studied include constrictive pericarditis, atrial myxoma pulmonary hypertension, and valvular heart disease.

Oakley served on the Committee on Safety of Medicines. She was appointed to a personal chair at the Hammersmith in 1991 and was a founding fellow of the European Society of Cardiology From 1995-1998 she also chaired the Society’s working group on valve disease, as well as chairing the task force for producing guidelines on the management of heart disease in pregnancy.

Awards
Oakley received the Laennec Master Clinician award from the American Heart Association in 2004. In 2006 she was awarded the Mackenzie medal of the British Cardiovascular Society for services to British cardiology.

Death
Oakley died 17th November 2014, aged 83.