I should’ve mentioned that this book is written by Rachel Swaby (what kind of feminist doesn’t acknowledge the author?!). I’m going to start a series on the profiles I read and call it #HeadstrongProfile to bring awareness to these #womeninstem

#HeadstrongProfile day 4: Helen Taussing (1898-1986) was a founder of pediatric cardiology by collecting data for a decade to catalog #congenitalheartdefects. Due to her sex, she was denied from multiple medical schools, but persevered (w/ #dyslexia) to become director of #pedcard at #JohnHopkins.

#HeadstrongProfile 10: Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) was one of the first #entomologists who dedicated her life to observing bugs! She often collected bugs and studied their life stages often drawing those stages with notes. She published her first book in 1679 focusing on #metamorphosis.

#HeadstrongProfile 14 - #AliceHamilton (1869-1970) is one of the many reasons why we should never desire to go back to the #IndustrialRevolution. Hamilton was pivotal in researching #occupationalhazards including #leadpoisoning that was occurring in factories all over the country.

#HeadstrongProfile 13 #EllenSwallowRichards was kind of the first woman allowed to attend #MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology. MIT allowed her to attend for free so they received backlash, they could say they didn’t really admit her. She went on to get two bachelors degrees and a masters.

#HeadstrongProfile day 12 - #MaryAnning (1799-1847) loved searching for fossils that washed up after a storm. She carefully extracted bones of full #dinosaurs. Though she was rarely part of any conversation around #paleontology, she certainly contributed to it.

#HeadstrongProfile day 11 - Jeanne Villepreux-Power (1794-1871) was good at a lot… before turning to #aquariophily or modern day #marinebiology , she made dress worn by royalty. She then married a man that brought her to the island of #Sicily where she became interested in the flora and fauna.

#HeadstrongProfile 9: Jane Wright (1919-2013) was considered the “mother of #chemotherapy.” After obtaining her MD in 1945, she quickly ran up the ranks at #HarlemHospital to top #NYMedicalCollege . By 1967, there was no other #AfricanAmericanWoman in such a high position.

#HeadstrongProfile 8: #GertrudeBelleElion (1918-1999) was moved by her own loss to begin work in #chemistry and attempting to manufacture drugs that could save someone’s life. Unable to get a graduate position (bc funding went to men), she sought a job at #BurroughsWellcomeCompany that created drugs

#HeadstrongProfile day 7: Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin received a #NobelPrize in #chemistry and was well-known for her strides in #XrayChrystallography surprising everyone by being able to nail down structures of #penicillin and #B12 . Her work on penicillin helped it to be mass produced in war times!

#HeadstrongProfile day 6: Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) is responsible for saving a lot of babies lives by developing the #ApgarScore for when babies are initially delivered. Data collected provided clues into what may have gone wrong in delivery and medical professionals were able to adjust as needed.

#HeadstrongProfile day 5: Elsie Widdowson (1906-2000) was working in #dietics prior to #nutrition becoming a field. Though she enjoyed looking at apples, she desired a position that would more directly benefit humans and found a job at #KingsCollegeHospital in 1933 where she met Robert McCance.

#HeadstrongProfile day 3: Gerty Radnitz Cori (1896-1957) worked with passion in biochem making strides in how humans process food. Her and her hubby were the first to #bioengineer #glycogen when no one had created a large bio molecule outside of living cells. Gerty was considered a “lab genius.”

#HeadstrongProfile day 3 - Alice Ball (1892-1916), a chemist, that helped find a way to inject #chaulmoograoil into #leprosy patients providing much relief to them. Alice was also the first woman and #AfricanAmerican to earn a graduate degree #CollegeofHawaii She had a very short yet impactful life!

#HeadstrongProfile day 2: Anna Wessels Williams (1863-1954) was a bacteriologist that helped cultivate the methodology that stopped the spread of #diphtheria which was killing children at an alarming rate. She also worked to discover how to detect #rabies early on to be able to administer a vaccine.

#HeadstrongProfile day 1: Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842-1906) helped break down barriers for women pursuing higher education by refuting a book written by a man complaining about periods and did so with LOTS of data. She attended TWO medical schools and was the first women to attend Ècole de Mèdecine (🇫🇷)