Celebrating women pioneers in science

Rosalyn Yalow launched a new era of medical research

Rosalyn Yalow went from being a part-time secretary to becoming the lone woman faculty member at a major university. She eventually developed a revolutionary method for measuring concentrations of hormones in the blood, known as radioimmunoassay (RIA), for which she received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977.

Rita Levi-Montalcini changed our understanding of the human body

Rita Levi-Montalcini defied all odds. She studied medicine when her peers in Italy were expected to be wives and mothers. As the Holocaust forced her family to flee, she set up a laboratory in hiding. And a decade later, she made her stunning nerve growth factor discovery that led to her winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986.

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin uncovered mysteries of the molecular world

As a child, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin loved chemistry and archaeology—so, she studied both in college. But eventually, chemistry won out. Working through chronic rheumatoid arthritis, she developed X-ray crystallography, uncovering the complex structure of penicillin and being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964.

Follow Barbara McClintock’s journey of discovery that shaped modern genetics

Throughout her career, Barbara McClintock made discoveries in cytogenetics—the study of chromosomes and their genetic expression—that were so far beyond the understanding of the time, other scientists essentially ignored her work for more than a decade. But she persisted, trusting herself and the evidence under her microscope.

Genetics as a discipline was still new in the 1920s. But McClintock took to it immediately, developing a lifelong interest in the field of cytogenetics. She earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees at Cornell and had great success in her research on the cytogenetics of maize.

McClintock studied the mosaic colors of maize, observing that the kernel patterns changed too frequently from one generation to the next to be simple mutations. What was responsible for this? The answer—explained by her theories of genetic transposition—contradicted prevailing genetic theory. “They thought I was crazy, absolutely mad,” said McClintock.

In the face of such resistance, McClintock stopped trying to convince others—but she never stopped pursuing her theories. “I just knew I was right,” she said. Finally, in the mid-1960s, the scientific community began to validate her findings. In 1983, McClintock received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine—more than 30 years after making her cytogenetic discoveries.

McClintock made discovery after discovery over the course of her long career. But she’s best remembered for genetic transposition (or “jumping genes”). The phenomenon is fundamental to understanding genetics, as well as related concepts in medicine, evolutionary biology, and more. But beyond her discoveries, McClintock’s legacy is one of uncommon persistence.