Prominent Women

Biologists – Rosalyn
Sussman Yalow
A holistic approach
 Rosalyn Sussman Yalow
Born on July 19, 1921 in New
York City
“Perhaps the earliest memories I
have are of being a stub bo rn,
det ermin ed child. Through the
years my mother has told me
that it was fortunate that I chose
to do acceptable things, for if I
had chosen otherwise no one
could have deflected me from
my path.”

From Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1977, Editor Wilhelm Odelberg, [Nobel Foundation],
Stockholm, 1978
 Inspiration to become a scientist
• Her sel f
– She was an early reader, reading even before
kinde rgar ten
– She had an aptitude for mathematics in hi gh
sch oo l
• “By seventh grade I was committed to mathematics”
– In co lle ge, she felt that nuclear physics was the
most exciting field in the world
• “It seemed as if every major experiment brought a
Nobel Prize”
 Inspiration to become a scientist
• Fa mily
– Pare nts : Both mother, née Clara Zipper and
father, Simon Sussman, did not have high school
education but encourag ed their two children
to pursue education through college.

– Bro ther: her older brother, Alexander would

bring her to the Public Library every week to
borrow books since they did not have any books
at home
 Inspiration to become a scientist
• Tea cher s
– Mr. Mondz ak : A chemistry teacher at Walton
High School excited her interest in chemistry

– Pro fess ors He rb er t N . Oti s & Dua ne

Roll er : Physics professors at Hunter College
fuelled her interest in physics
 Inspiration to become a scientist
• Pub li ca tions
– Eve Cur ie’s publication of the biography of her
mother, Madame Marie Curie – an inspiration to
any young aspiring female scientist

– Enri co Fe rmi’s colloquium on the newly

discovered nuclear fission – paved the way for
medical investigation with the availability of
radioisotopes
 Challenges Faced
• As a wo man , she faced prejudice, especially in a
male dominant education system
– She overcame great odds and discrimination by
being the only woman among 400 men at the
University of Illinois College of Engineering
Physics Department (where she obtained her
PhD)
• Also, she faced discrimination as a Jew
– Her application to do her masters at Purdue
University was rejected because she was a Jewish
woman
 How She Overcame
• Worked part- ti me as a secretary to Dr. Rudolf
Schoenheimer, a leading biochemist at Columbia
University as a means to enter graduate school

• As the only women in her cohort at the University

of Illinois, she had to work extremely hard to cast
off gender stereotypes and discrimination received
from colleagues as well as her professors.
 Contri but ions to
RIA Scienc e
(Rad ioimmunoa ssay)

 highly se nsiti ve in
vitro method for the
measurement of antigen
levels in human blood

 combines the
spe ci fici ty of
antibody-antigen
binding with the
 Contri bu ti ons to
Scienc
 High impact on scientific research:e
– Making detailed measurements of previously
undetectable quantities of hormones possible
 able to detect as little as10pg of insulin per ml of
body fluid
– Overcome a 20 year stagnation of research in the
area of immunology
 Scientists previously restricted in the analysis of
antigen-antibody reactions to those that
produced visible pre ci pi ta tion or other
evidence, such as the clumping of red blood cells
 Contri bu ti ons to
 Scienc
Sens iti vity , reli e y and li mitless
abi li ty, eco nom
appl icab ili ty of the RIA technique sparked
numerous innovations in biomedical research

 Now utilized for a variety of applications in basic and

applied research including :
 Assessment and tracking of metabolites
 Determining effective dosage levels of drugs
 Detection of foreign substances in blood
 Testing the efficacy of immunotherapeutic
procedures
 Contri bu ti ons to
Scienc e
Gr ound bre ak ing R esearch in E ndo cr inolo gy
 Elucidated the molecular mechanisms and
pathogenesis of endocrine diseases associated with:
• Ins uli n
• ACTH
• Gr owth ho rm one
 These discoveries continuing to shape the field of
biomedical science to this day!
 Contri bu ti ons to
Scienc
Sci enti fi c Int egr ity
e
 Renamed her laboratory the Solomon Berman
Laboratory after her partner after his death in 1972:
– Enabled his contributions to the development of RIA
to be commemorated
 Decided not to pa tent RIA technology:
– Enabled the technology to be made freely available
to the scientific community
– Prevent the infusion of commercial interests into
medical research
 An Ins pirat io n to al l
Wo me n

"We must believe in our se lv es or no one else will believe in us ... we

must feel a pe rso na l r espo ns ibi lit y to ease the path for those
who come after us. The world cannot afford the loss of the talents
of half its people if we are to solve the many problems that beset
us."