Gertrude Elion Lesson Summary

Two episodes from her life: 

1. Nobel Prize post-event party. How she tapped her foot and nodded her head when she heard her favourite music being played in the background while all the men sat there in a stiff and formal manner. 
2. The schoolgirl who wrote a letter telling her that Gertrude Elion is her inspiration. The way she inspired the future - especially the girls is something amazing

 

Early life and her mission in life: 

Born in the U.S to emigrant parents. Parents are from Poland. She had a brother and they had a happy childhood. She had a thirst for knowledge and enjoyed all her courses. Death of her grandfather due to cancer when she was 15 made her choose Chemistry as a major subject. Those days girls either went on to become teachers or did scientific research. She was known by the name Trudy. 

 

Education: 

 

Received her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. There were no jobs available. She joined a lab working without salary for more than one year and then, later on, she received 20 dollars a week. With the money saved, she joined the graduate school at NYU in 1939.

 

To quote her ‘I wanted to be a chemist when no women were doing that. The world was not waiting for me’. (Her life reminds us of Kalpana Chawala - The Sky is the Limit) Did her MS Science Degree and completed it in the year 1941. 

 

She tried doing her PhD afterwards, but she didn’t complete it. She started as a part-time research scholar and later on when she was asked to convert it into a full-time degree she refused because she enjoyed her exciting practical work. She says - 'You don’t need a PhD to do the work we are doing'. 

 

Professional Life: 

World War II gave her a break. No men were around so women were recruited. She was hired as an analytical chemist and her job was to measure the acidity of pickles and the colour of mayonnaise. She accepted the position of Biochemist 1944 and spent the next 39 years at Burroughs Wellcome. 

 

She discovered the first effective drug that induced remission (A temporary reduction of the severity of disease or pain) The drug was used for childhood leukaemia. One of the things that she had in her mind wad to discover what kills cancer cells. 

 

After her retirement in 1983, she remained active in her field as an advisor to many organizations, including WHO and the American Association for Cancer Research. Her research team invented azidothymidine (AZT) a drug for the treatment of HIV infection.  She mentored a third-year Duke University medical student every year who would take a year off from courses and do research under Trudy. She made herself available to students. She was active in many colleges in the US. She was also an advocate for the advancement of women in science. When she visits a college, she normally liked interacting with students than meeting the department heads. 

 

Trudy was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and medicine in 1988 for her contribution towards her discovery of drugs for treatment. She shared the prize with her long-time associate George H Hitchings and English scientist James Black. 

 

Trudy’s hobbies are photography and music. She liked Music and Photography. She went beyond Chemistry to other fields like biochemistry, pharmacology, immunology and eventually virology. She never got married. Her work became her vocation and avocation.