Association of American Physicians (1973) Honorary Member, Association Alimentary Surgeons (1973) Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) (1978) Jimenez-Diaz Prize (1980) Thannhauser Prize, (1980) Fothergill Gold Medal, Medical Society of London (1983) Gold Medal, British Medical Association (1985) Honorary doctorate for being an outstanding personality in the fields of clinical and experimental hepatology, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz (1991) Honorary Member, Alpha Omega Alpha Association (1992) Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) (May 2001) Honorary Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (1984), Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (1986), Royal Colleges of Surgeons (1989), American College of Physicians, Royal College of Physicians of Canada, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Honorary degrees; DSc, City University of New York (1977), Yale University (1983), University of Edinburgh (1985), University of London (1989), University of Cambridge (1995), MD, University of Lisbon (1981), University of Oslo (1981), University of Leuven (1984), Autonomous University of Barcelona (1991), University of Mainz (1991), Trinity College, Dublin (1992), University of Valladolid (1994), University of Wisconsin (1995), University of Santiago, Chile (1995), University of Padua (1996), University of Toronto (1996), University of Oviedo (1998), LLD, University of Aberdeen (1982) Personal life On 15 December 1951, Sherlock married Dr Geraint "Gerry" James, a physician and researcher into sarcoidosis. They had two daughters Amanda and Auriole, and two granddaughters. Although occasionally referred to as Mrs Sheila James she generally preferred to be known by her maiden name, and was one of the first female professionals to follow this pattern. On 30 December 2001, Sherlock died in London from pulmonary fibrosis, two weeks after her golden wedding anniversary. Her daughter Amanda, a Baptist minister, conducted her funeral. Legacy When Sherlock started her medical career, little was known about liver disease. Her work helped to establish hepatology as a medical specialty. She pioneered the use of needle liver biopsy, which had been used purely as a research tool, based on the technique of Sir John McMichael. Her approach improved the understanding of the pathology of liver disease and it continues to be used in the diagnosis of liver diseases today. The liver unit that she set up at the Royal Free Hospital became the centre for both research into liver disease and the education of trainees in the specialty. In 1966, she developed, with Deborah Doniach of the Middlesex Hospital, the standard