Dr. Haust was born and completed high school in Poland. Graduating in medicine from the University of Heidelberg, Germany in 1951, she emigrated to Canada in 1952 with her husband, Dr. Heinz Haust. Their new life began with rotating internship at Kingston General Hospital (KGH), Kingston, Ontario. In 1955 she enrolled in a residency and MSc (Med) program in Pathology at KGH and Queen's University (QU) directed by Dr. Robert H. More.

Completing the program and passing the General Pathology examinations of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (RCPS) in 1959, she studied Paediatric Pathology (PP) at Cincinnati Children's Hospital with Dr. Benjamin Landing (1959-1960). Back in Kingston in 1960, she was a Paediatric Pathologist at KGH, and Assistant and Associate Professor at QU. Moving to London, Ontario in 1967 she was Director of Pathology at Children's Psychiatric Research Institute, Professor of Pathology (Acting Co-Chairman in 1970-71), Paediatrics, and Obstetrics and Gynaecology at University of Western Ontario (UWO), and on Pathology Staff at the (new) (1972) University Hospital. She was a Visiting Scientist at Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford University (1972-73). Returning to London she continued her active duties. Following a stay as a Visiting Scholar in her "old" Department at QU in 1995, she assumed Emeritus Professor status at UWO (active). Appointed Adjunct Professor of Pathology at QU in 1999, she spends there each year a lengthy working session. She remains an active Fellow of the RCPS and a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

Dr. Haust's contributions to science in medicine have been in atherosclerosis, connective tissues, placental and PP, and inborn errors of metabolism. She was deeply involved in enquiries into, what she termed "functional pathology". Thus, her investigations brought not only new information but also introduced revisions of biological mechanisms and often new concepts. This work includes: the discovery that smooth muscle cells are involved in every phase of atherosclerosis and secrete an elastase-precursor; formulation of elastogenesis, and of altered endothelial permeability with "insudation" of plasma proteins, and thrombosis in atherogenesis.

Dr. Haust gave a short course in "Placental Pathology" at the USCAP Annual meeting in 1967, which, together with Dr. Willaim A. Blanc continued until 1975. In 1968 a "Specialty Conference" in PP was introduced which Dr. Haust moderated (or co-moderated with Drs. Harvey Rosenberg, Benjamin Landing or Enid Gilbert) until 1976. She has served on the USCAP Education Committee and Council (the first female councillor since Maude Abbott's election in 1907 as Secretary-Treasurer of the IAP-forerunner).

Dr. Haust presented two PP-programs at the 1974 IAP Congress in Hamburg, Germany which prompted the 18 present paediatric pathologists to establish an International Paediatric Pathology Association (IPPA). Elected its Secretary-Treasurer, Dr. Haust served for 10 years, and later as Chair of Council and the President. She continued to organize the PP-programs for the next five biennial IAP-Congresses and for four European Congresses of Pathology. She personally assisted in the establishment of the Australian-New Zealand Paediatric Pathology Group (1975) and the Latin American Society of Paediatric Pathology (SLAPPE) (1985).

To draw the world wide attention of paediatricians to the role of PP in children's care, she organized in 1977 a PP Symposium for the XV Congress of International Pediatric Association (IPA) in New Delhi, India. The IPA-President established thereafter an IPA-Advisory Expert Panel (No 23) on PP with Dr. Haust as its coordinator. She served for 10 years organizing programs for the next triennial IPA-Congresses.

Dr. Haust has been an ardent champion of the PP as a distinct (sub)specialty in Pathology. One of the aims of Pediatric Pathology Club (PPC) (she was one of only 3 Canadians of the 37 charter members) was to "educate" general pathologists of the uniqueness of PP. With Drs. Ben Landing and John Kissane she compiled in 1975 the desirable new activities for PP ("the Aspen initiative"). The implementation of these began only in the course of her own Presidency (1983-84), with reorganization and a name change from PPC to the Society for Pediatric Pathology (SPP). The Subcommittee of the Education Committee was charged with seeking for PP the specialty status from the American Board of Pathology (ABP); the first examination was in PP by the ABP on November 20, 1990. Dr. Haust continued on other committees of the SPP and on the EB (1981-1995) of the second PP-publication: "Pediatric Pathology".

Dr. Haust has served on numerous Editorial Boards, including 23 years on "Perspectives in Pediatric Pathology", and nine others (the first female pathologist on EB of Virchows Archives), and on grant review boards in Canada and USA. Her own research was supported for decades by major grants. She has been a member of many national and international professional societies, serving as President, Secretary-Treasurer, or Councillor on a number of these. She was an invited lecturer, around the globe on over 420 occasions, and is the sole or co-author of 270 publications.

Throughout her career she has been involved intensely in education. She was acknowledged as an excellent teacher by the students and established a popular PP-residency at QU, and graduate and fellowship programs also at UWO. For her devoted teaching, she received many awards and distinctions from medical students at QU and UWO.

The honours for her original research and promotion of the science of medicine are numerous and may be exemplified only by a few from: the International Athero. Society (IAS) (Alexander von Humboldt; Distinguished Service; Gold Medal; Distinguished Achievement); University of Padova, Italy (Andreas Vesalius Medal); University of Chile, Santiago (Rector's Medallion). She was the first female awardee of the prestigious William Boyd Lectureship of the Canadian Association of Pathologists. Established in her name has been an Annual Fellowship for young investigators by the IAS, an Annual Award for a graduate student at the UWO-Department of Pathology and a Lectureship at the QU Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine.

In 1989 Dr. Haust was elected to the prestigious Academy of Sciences, Heidelberg, Germany whose President wrote: "….this honour is bestowed not only because of your many original contributions to science but also in recognition of your outstanding efforts on behalf of the International Community of Scientists, and for `integrating' the knowledge of medicine of NA with that of Europe". In 1990 she received from Canada Council the Isaak Walton Killam Award in Medicine, the most prestigious award for scholarly achievements in Canada. In 2001 she was "admitted" to the selected group of "Founders of Pediatric Pathology" ("Perspectives in Pediatric Pathology": Vol. 23), and a "FESTSCHRIFT" in her honour with 15 contributing scientists from around the world was published in 2002 in two issues of "Pediatric Pathology and Molecular Medicine".

Honorary degrees in medicine (Dr. med. hc) were conferred on Dr. Haust by the Jagiellonian University (U), KrakÌw, Poland (estab: 1364), Charles U, Prague, Czech Republic (estab: 1348) and by Havana U, Havana, Cuba (3^rd oldest U in the New World). In 2002 she received an Honorary Professorship in Medicine from the U of Chile, Santiago.