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Elizabeth Blackwell
She was the first woman to receive her medical degree in the United States. She graduated first in her class in 1849. In 1857, she opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children along with her sister, Dr Emily Blackwell (the third woman to earn an MD) and Dr Marie Zakrzewska. She wrote the inspirational book Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women.
https://www.proclinical.com/blogs/2017-3/10-most-influential-women-in-history-of-science-and-medicine -
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler
She was the first African American woman to earn a medical degree in 1864. She challenged prejudice that prevented African Americans from pursuing in their careers. In 1883, she published her book called, "Book of Medical Discourses".
https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_73.html -
Dr. Helen Mayo
She was born in Adelaide, South Australia and became a medical practitioner. Dr. Mayo was known for helping curb the high infant mortality rate in South Australia at the beginning of the 20th century. She founded the first infant mother health association in the region which was first known as the School of Mothers in Adelaide and later became the famous Mothers’ and Babies’ Health Association.
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mayo-helen-mary-7542 -
Gerty Cori
In 1947, she was the first woman to win for the Noble Prize category for her work in medicine and physiology. She won several other awards in recognition for her contributions to science and earned honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Boston University, Smith College, Yale, Columbia and Rochester between 1948 and 1955
https://www.proclinical.com/blogs/2017-3/10-most-influential-women-in-history-of-science-and-medicine -
Dr. Jane Cooke Wright
She was born in New York City; graduated honors from New York Medical School in 1945. She was known for her achievements for treatments for breast and skin cancer. She has published more than 100 papers on cancer chemotherapeutics; led teams of cancer researchers to Africa, China, Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union.
https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_336.html -
Rosalind Franklin
She was a biophysicist who graduated in Cambridge University in 1941. She discovered about DNA and using x-ray photographs to solve its complexities. In addition, she also worked on tobacco mosaic virus and polio virus. Franklin had a passion for science from an early age and decided to become a scientist at the age of 15.
https://notevenpast.org/rosalind-franklin-and-her-contributions-discovery-structure-deoxyribonucleic-acid/ -
Dr. Edna Adan Ismail
She was the daughter of a Somali medical doctor. She was trained in nursing, midwifery, and family planning. She initiated the first training courses for nurses and midwives at the Hargeisa Group Hospital, appointed Director of the Department of Human Resources Development, Ministry of Health and Labor from April 1977 to November 1978. Director and founder of the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital on March 1, 2002.
https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somali-women-heroes-health%C2%A0edna-adan-ismail -
Dr. Patricia E Bath
She was the first African American woman to succeed in ophthalmology. She was born on November 4, 1942 in Harlem, New York. She has accomplished so many awards for her achievements during her high school and university. In addition, she received her medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine in Washington D.C. while she interned at Harlem Hospital. In 1981, she created her invention called the laserphaco probe.
https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_26.html. -
Dr. Susan Love
An advocate for preventative breast cancer research, began her career in the 1970s. In the 1980s, she became the first female general surgeon on the staff of Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital. Dr. Love was one of the few medical professionals who used more conservative lumpectomies. Boston’s Faulkner Breast Center, the first American facility to specialize in breast disease. Founded the Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research in 1998
https://drsusanloveresearch.org/dr-susan-love/ -
Henrietta Lacks
She was diagnosed with cervical cancer by the age of 30. She was sent to John Hopkins Hospital and a doctor took a piece of her tumor without consent and sent it to the lab for scientists to continue growing tissue culture. This became known as HeLa cells and it became a big controversy how the cells were able to float on dust particles and travel on unwashed hands and other cultures.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/henrietta-lacks-immortal-cells-6421299/
