Margaret Isabella Brownlee Dick (14 September 191825 September 2008) was a pioneering Australian microbiologist. She is best known for her role as Chief Microbiologist at Kraft Foods Australia and for the development of a methodology for safe food production. She was the first woman to be elected as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology. Personal life Dick was born in Melbourne to immigrant Scottish parents, Margaret and James Dick. She was the youngest of the four children in the family. She descended from a long line of engineers on her paternal side, including her grandfather, father, and all of her uncles. Her mother was a housewife and tailor, while both of her sisters became teachers. Dick's maternal grandfather worked as an accountant. The family moved from South Africa to Australia in 1914. Her parents decided to move away due to her father's risk of miner's phthisis and eminent war. Dick never married. She died peacefully at her home in Mornington. She is survived by her niece and nephews. Education Dick was educated at Kew State School, Mont Albert Central School (the leading central school in Melbourne at the time) and Melbourne Girls' High School. Her parents made financial sacrifices so that she and her siblings could attend the best schools. She graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1941 with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Dietetics, and Biochemistry. While working at Kraft, she developed and introduced new microbiological methods into Australia for measuring a range of B group vitamins and amino acids. This research led to her completion of a Master of Science in 1955. Her Master of Science degree was also awarded from the University of Melbourne. Career Upon graduating with a bachelor's degree, she found work in a medical microbiology laboratory in Adelaide, working under the supervision of several physicians. Shortly after, Dick returned to Melbourne where she won a role with the Kraft Walker Cheese Company (later Kraft Foods) as assistant to the senior microbiologist. She began working for Kraft Foods in 1942 and continued to work for them for 40 years. By 1949, she earned the title of Senior Microbiologist and eventually she would become the Chief Microbiologist for the entire company. She set the microbiology standards for all of the company's products and became an authority on bacteriophage interaction with cheese starters and the occurrence of Staphylococci in dairy