For International Women’s Week, we will be highlighting a woman a day for the week of March 7-11. These women have contributed immensely to the way our world works today.
Gertrude Elion was born in 1918 and grew up in the Bronx in New York City. She was an avid learner, loving all her courses so much that she had trouble deciding on a potential career path. At the age of 15, her grandfather died of cancer, which inspired Elion to pursue a Bachelor of Science in chemistry at Hunter College, hoping to find a cure for the disease. The stock market crash of 1929 bankrupted the Elion family, but luckily Hunter College was free. After graduating from Hunter College with high honours, she aimed to continue to graduate school. However, there was a lack of funding, especially for women, during the Great Depression.
After working in a variety of jobs and saving money, Elion started her master’s degree at New York University. She worked during the day and pursued her research at night, obtaining a Master of Science degree in chemistry in 1941. Around this time, World War II had begun, which led to a shortage of chemists in industry. This opened career opportunities for many women in science. Elion landed a job in research at Burroughs Wellcome pharmaceutical company, as an assistant to Dr. George Hitchings. Through research with Hitchings, Elion was able to expand her research from organic chemistry to biochemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, immunology, and virology.
The type of research she and Hitchings performed abandoned the “trial and error” approach of the past and instead focused on a logical and scientific approach to drug development. Elion studied the difference between healthy and unhealthy cells, specifically focusing on the role of nucleic acids in cell reproduction. Her goal was to study the nucleic acids in DNA and use this knowledge to stop tumors from growing. She and her team ended up developing two drugs to combat leukemia and kickstarted a new era of cancer research. In 1978, Elion had another breakthrough when she developed antiviral drugs, which targeted viruses without harming healthy cells. As a result of this discovery, drugs to treat herpes, Epstein-Barr, chickenpox, shingles, and AIDS were developed.
Elion’s work in drug research has resulted in major scientific advancements and saved many lives. Her name appears on 45 patents for life-saving drugs. In 1988 Elion received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her approach to drug development, sharing the prize with Hitchings and James Black. Elion passed away at the age of 81 in 1999, yet her work continues to make an impact on the scientific community and saves lives every day. Her contribution to science has changed the way drugs are developed, making her impact long lasting.
Check out our external links to learn more about Gertrude Elion from The Nobel Prize – Biographical, The Nobel Prize, American Chemical Society, and Biography.