Phyllis E. M. Clinch (12 September 1901 – 19 October 1984) was an Irish botanist most recognised for her work in the field of plant viruses.
[1][2] Clinch attained her undergraduate degree from University College Dublin in 1923 with a first class honours in botany and chemistry.
She was then awarded a scholarship and continued to study under Joseph Doyle at University College Dublin obtaining a master's in 1924.
In 1924 she received her MSc degree through her thesis work in addition to being awarded a research fellowship from the Dublin City Council in 1925.
[4] She then worked with Alexandre Guilliermond studying cytology (the function and structure of cells) from 1928 to 1929 at the Sorbonne in Paris.
[3] Starting in 1929 she also joined a group at Albert Agricultural College doing research on plant viruses.
[3] On 30 March 1961 she became the first woman to receive the Boyle Medal from the RDS (Royal Dublin Society).
This is the first time that women's portraits had been hung at the Academy House since the RIA was founded 230 years earlier.
[6] In the 1930s Clinch gained international fame for the work that she did to reveal complex viruses in potatoes.
[5] She later focused on pathogens in sugar beets in addition to identifying six viruses in tomatoes.