Mary F. Lyon

Mary Frances Lyon (born May 151925) is an English geneticist, retired from active research in 1990. Her research focused on the effects of radiation and other agents on genetic mutation, as well as the process of mutation itself and its applications to medicine. In 1961 she described inactivation of the X chromosome, the Lyon hypothesis explaining how X chromosomes can sometimes be inactive in mammals.

Dr. Lyon is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, and a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Writings
Gene Action in the X-chromosome of the Mouse (Mus musculus L.) Nature 190, 372 - 373 (22 April 1961).