A professor of anatomy of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine for thirty years, she was best known for her work on peripheral nerve injuries and leprosy.
[1] Bowden held house posts at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital before moving to Oxford in 1942 to join Herbert Seddon's peripheral nerve injury unit.
Throughout her research career, her most significant contributions were to striated muscle tissue disease and healing of peripheral nerve injuries in leprosy.
[1][2] She visited India multiple times throughout her life to train local surgeons to repair nerve injuries caused by leprosy.
[2] Bowden received numerous honours, including an OBE, Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), and a Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.