Mary Joyce Marples

Mary (Molly) Joyce Marples (née Ransford; 1908 - 1998) was a microbial ecologist/medical mycologist who spent most of her career conducting research and teaching at the University of Otago in New Zealand from her appointment in 1946 until her retirement in 1967. She is noted as an early proponent of the theory that skin provides an ecosystem that supports a diversity of microorganisms. Life Marples was born in Kalimpong in northern India; her parents were missionaries there. She was educated in England and completed a degree in zoology at Somerville College, Oxford. In 1931 Molly married Brian John Marples.