392: Maria Goeppert Mayer Theoretical Physicist Born: 28 June 1906, Kattowitz, Upper Silesia, German Empire (Present-day Katowice, Poland) Died: 20 February 1972, San Diego, California, United States of America Through her father’s side Maria was the 7th straight generational university professor. She earned her PhD in theoretical physics in 1930 but would also work in…
391: Barbara McClintock Cytogeneticist Born: 16 June 1902, Hartford, Connecticut, United States of America Died: 2 September 1992, Huntington, New York, United States of America Barbara’s early work was pioneering in the field of DNA replication (her work specifically was in maize), otherwise known as Jumping Genes. She received a PhD from Cornell University in…
388: Gerty Cori Biochemist Born: 15 August 1896, Prague, Austro-Hungarian Empire (Present-day Czech Republic) Died: 26 October 1957, Glendale, Missouri, United States of America Gerty received her Doctor of Medicine in 1920. She became a professor of biochemistry in 1947. Gerty and her husband worked as a research team. They extensively studied hormones and the…
378: Françoise Barré-Sinoussi Virologist Born: 30 July 1947, Paris, France Françoise won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008 (she shared it with three others). The citation for the award reads, “For their discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus,” otherwise known as HIV. That’s right, Françoise and her co-worker discovered HIV (in 1983). They…
377: Linda B. Buck Physiologist and Neurobiologist Born: 29 January 1947, Seattle, Washington, United States of America Linda was the receiver of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2004. She received her PhD in immunology in 1980. Linda and her co-worker discovered how hundreds of genes in our DNA code for the odorant sensors…
375: Ada Yonath Biologist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 Born: 22 June 1939, Geula, Jerusalem, Britain Mandate of Palestine (Present-day Israel) Ada received her PhD in 1968. Her work has largely been with ribosomes; beginning in the 1970’s, her hard work became a reality in 2000 with the successful mapping of…
370: Irène Joliot-Curie Chemist and Daughter of Marie Curie Born: 12 September 1897, Paris, France Died: 17 March 1956, Paris, France She worked as a nurse radiographer alongside her mother during the First World War. Irène earned her PhD in 1925. Irène was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 for her work in…
365: May-Britt Moser Psychologist and Neuroscientist Born: 4 January 1963, Fosnavåg, Norway May-Britt is the department head of the Centre for Neural Computation at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014. Sharing the award with three others, the prize citation states, “For their discoveries…
360: Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Biologist Specializing in Cell Development Born: 20 October 1942, Heyrothsberge, Germany Christiane received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995. She shared the prize with two others, and the citation for the award reads, “For their discoveries concerning the genetic control of early embryonic development.” After high school she tried…
354: Rosalyn Yalow Medical Physicist and Biochemist Born: 19 July 1921, Bronx, New York, United States of America Died: 30 May 2011, Bronx, New York, United States of America Rosalyn was rejected from several prominent universities’ graduate programs because she was Jewish and a woman (including Perdue). She was the only woman to hold a…