Diana Joan "Ding" Dyason (1919–1989) was a highly respected Australian lecturer and historian of medicine with major teaching and life-long research interests in public health and germ theory.
As a woman who firstly worked in the traditional roles of research assistant and demonstrator in the non-traditional discipline of science, Dyason progressed to become a leader at a major Australian university, overcoming barriers of gender and culture at a national and international level, receiving awards and honors in the process.
[5] Her father was a successful businessman, mining engineer and humanist[6] with a strong belief in the power of reason, who enjoyed the company of academics, including his brother-in-law, Sir Ernest Scott, a professor of history at the University of Melbourne.
Dyason was assigned to teach first year medical students in a compulsory but non-examinable course, a difficult task that she nevertheless turned into a memorable experience for them.
Her own research became increasingly interested in the social history of medicine, and in the 1970s she was a key figure in the introduction of courses in Science, Technology and Society at Melbourne University.
[17] Under her leadership the department grew and consolidated its position, and she continued to inspire with her wit and innovative, dedicated teaching[1] An outstanding example was in the 1970s, when Dyason collaborated with the folk musician Danny Spooner to develop a highly popular course, titled "Glorious Smellbourne", on the topic of public health and the sewerage systems in Melbourne that included two volumes of resource materials she had compiled.
[18] Towards the end of her career she was still publishing in the area of history of medicine[19] as well as reflecting on her professional life and was a member of the Council of the Royal Children's Hospital School (1983 to 1988).