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Introduction
Dr Joan Forrest Gardner was born on June 16, 1918 in Melbourne, and passed away in 2013. She was a renowned Australian academic and a pioneer in sterilisation practice.

Family Background
Her mother was Dr Hilda Josephine Gardner, a distinguished medical student and pre-eminent haematologist. Her father was Dr Jack Gardner, a medical officer in World War I and a practising physician until his death in 1928. Following her husband's death, Joan's mother joined the Melbourne Hospital (since renamed the Royal Melbourne Hospital) as a bacteriologist and serologist.

Her maternal uncle was Howard Florey who shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Education
Joan completed the Bachelor of Science in 1940 and Master of Science in Microbiology at the Faculty of Science,University of Melbourne in 1941. She also completed her part time research scholarship in the Department of Biochemistry from 1941 - 1946 where she investigated enzymes in wheat flour after which she left for the Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford.

Career
In 1953, Joan took up an appointment in the then named Department of Bacteriology (now named the Department of Microbiology and Immunology) at the University of Melbourne. She was a teacher and a researcher focusing on sterilisation, disinfection and infection control. She published two papers in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology.

Her career was shaped by her professional interest in practices and standards of infection control and contamination in a medical context. She also coauthored two books of infection control with Professor Sydney Rubbo and Dr Margaret Peel. She also lectured in advanced courses for infection control nurses and the staff of hospital sterilisation departments. Joan was integral in establishing standards for sterilisers and related hospital equipment.

Awards and Recognition
In June 1992, Joan was declared an Officer of the Order of Australia in recognition of her work. Additionally, she was awarded Honorary Life Membership to what is now known as the Sterilising Research Advisory Council of Australia.

Personal Life
Joan was a member of the Handknitters' Guild and a longstanding supporter of the Lort Smith Animal Hospital. She was a photographer who prepared teaching slides in the early, pre-computer days.