The oldest of four girls, Myrna was born to Gilbert and Doris Dixon on December 8, 1940 in Kingston, Jamaica.

She spent her early childhood with her grandparents at Coley Mountain Primary School. She then returned to her parents and sisters where she completed primary school before attending St. Hugh's High School in Kingston at the age of 12.

Upon graduating St. Hugh's High School, she held a government position in Customs before bravely stepping into the next stage of her life, leaving Jamaica in 1964 to attend Howard University.

At Howard University she obtained her BSc and MSc in Microbiology in 1968 and 1970 respectively. She worked in various positions while in school including work as a research assistant. After graduating in 1968 she became the Supervisor of the Teaching Microbiology Laboratory and also became a member of the teaching staff in 1972. She enthusiastically performed both roles educating thousands of medical, dental, pharmacy, nursing, and allied health students until 2011.

Myrna was an active member of the American Society for Microbiology, American Society for the Advancement of Science, Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World, and the American Society for Clinical Pathology as well as many other organizations involved in the advancement of science.

Myrna met Clinton Stupart while working in Jamaica. He joined her at Howard University shortly after she began her studies in 1964. They married in 1965 and had daughter Shauna some years later.

Myrna loved volunteering and gave of her time whenever she could, sharing her passion for microbiology with local high school students and being active at her local church, library, museum, and hospital. She enjoyed the arts as much as the sciences and could frequently be found painting.  

She was passionate about learning new things. She could always be found practicing or taking courses to learn more about new recipes, piano, gardening, and foreign languages.