Rosalyn Sussman Yalow

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (July 19, 1921 – May 30, 2011) was an American medical physicist, and a co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (together with Roger Guillemin and Andrew Schally) for development of the radioimmunoassay technique. She was the second woman (after Gerty Cori), and the first American-born woman, to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Biography

Childhood

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was born in the Bronx, New York, the daughter of Clara (née Zipper) and Simon Sussman, and was raised in a Jewish household. She went to Walton High School (Bronx), New York City. After high school, she attended the all-female, tuition-free Hunter College, where her mother hoped she would learn to become a teacher. Instead, Yalow decided to study physics.

College

Yalow knew how to type, and was able to get a part-time position as a secretary to Dr. Rudolf Schoenheimer, a leading biochemist at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. She did not believe that any respectable graduate school would admit and financially support a woman, so she took another job as a secretary to Dr. Michael Heidelberger, another biochemist at Columbia, who hired her on the condition that she studied stenography. She graduated from Hunter College in January 1941. Yalow earned her PhD in 1945. The next summer, she took two tuition-free physics courses under government auspices at New York University.

Marriage and children

She married fellow student Aaron Yalow, the son of a rabbi, in June 1943. They had two children, Benjamin and Elanna Yalow, and kept a kosher home. Yalow did not believe in "balancing her career with her home life" and instead incorporated her home life wherever she could into her work life. Yalow credited her position at the prestigious graduate school to the shortage of male candidates during World War II. Being surrounded by gifted men made her aware of a wider world in science. They recognized her talent, they encouraged her, and they supported her. They were in a position to help her succeed.

For years Yalow faced criticism from women at work but she never quit nor turned her back on other young women, if she believed they had the potential to become real scientists. She never became an advocate for women's organizations in the field of science.

Yalow's first job after teaching and taking classes at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana graduate school was as an assistant electrical engineer at Federal Telecommunications Laboratory. She again found herself to be the only woman employee. She remained a physics lecturer from 1946 to 1950, although by 1947, she began her long association with the Veterans Administration by becoming a consultant to the Bronx Veteran's Administration Hospital.

The Veteran's Administration wanted to establish research programs to explore medical uses of radioactive substances.

Despite its huge commercial potential, Yalow and Berson refused to patent the method. In 1968, Yalow was appointed as a research professor in the department of medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, where she later became the Solomon Berson Distinguished Professor at Large. Exenatide, a drug based on a synthetic version of exendin-4, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2005.

In 1961, Yalow won the Eli Lilly Award of the American Diabetes Association, which provides scholarships for up to 100 scholars to attend Scientific Sessions, the world's largest scientific and medical conference focused on diabetes and its complications. In addition, it provides the education and training for these scholars to serve as faculty for professional education programs and to clinically manage the disease.

A year later, she was awarded the Gairdner Foundation International Award, which recognizes the world's most creative and accomplished biomedical scientists who are advancing humanity.

The same year, Yalow was awarded the American College of Physicians Award, which recognizes excellence and distinguished contributions by individuals to internal medicine.

In 1972, Yalow was awarded the William S. Middleton Award for Excellence in Research, which is the highest honor awarded annually by the Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development Service to senior biomedical research scientists in recognition of their outstanding scientific contributions and achievements, pertaining to the healthcare of veterans.

Also in 1972, she was given the Koch Award of the Endocrine Society, which awards individuals for their dedication to excellence in research, education and clinical practice in the field of endocrinology.

In 1975, Yalow and Berson (who had died in 1972) were awarded the American Medical Association Scientific Achievement Award, which is a gold medallion award presented to individuals on special occasions in recognition of their outstanding work in scientific achievement.

The following year she became the first female recipient and first nuclear physicist of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. Established by Albert and Mary Lasker in 1945, the award is intended to celebrate scientists who have made fundamental biological discoveries and clinical advances that improve human health.

In 1977, Yalow was the sixth individual woman (seventh overall, considering Marie Curie's two wins), and first American-born woman, to win the Nobel Prize in a scientific field. She was also the second woman in the world to win in the physiology or medicine category (the first was Gerty Cori). Yalow was honored for her role in devising the radioimmunoassay technique, along with Roger Guillemin and Andrew V. Schally for their research in another field. Radioimmunoassay can be used to measure a multitude of substances found in tiny quantities in fluids within and outside of organisms (such as viruses, drugs and hormones). The list of substances is endless, but specifically, it allowed blood donations to be screened for various types of hepatitis. The technique can also be used to identify hormone-related health problems. Further, it can be used to detect in the blood many foreign substances including some cancers. Finally, the technique can be used to measure the effectiveness of dose levels of antibiotics and drugs.

thumb|Rosalyn Sussman Yalow photographed in 1978 by [[Lynn Gilbert]]

In 1977, Yalow received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

In 1978, Yalow was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which provides an opportunity for an early-career professional with training in science or engineering to learn about a career in public policy and administration.

In 1986, Yalow was awarded the A. Cressy Morrison Award in Natural Sciences of the New York Academy of Sciences, which is offered by Mr. Abraham Cressy Morrison to individuals with superlative papers on a scientific subject within the field of The New York Academy of Sciences and its Affiliated Societies.

In 1988, Yalow received the National Medal of Science, which is given to American individuals who deserve the highest honor in science and technology.

In 1993, Yalow was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Death

Yalow died May 30, 2011, in the Bronx, New York. She was predeceased by her husband, and survived by two children, Benjamin and Elanna, and two grandchildren.

References

External links

Rosalyn Yalow: Assaying the unknown
Episode 9: Rosalyn Sussman Yalow from Babes of Science podcasts