The Lady of DNA
The work of British chemist Rosalind Franklin was crucial to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, and viruses. As Franklin’s work was vastly underappreciated during her lifetime, she is often referred to as “the dark lady of DNA’ or the “wronged heroine”.
The Mother of Nuclear Science
Physicist and chemist Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. In 1906, Curie became the first female professor at the University of Paris. Marie Curie discovered radium and polonium and made huge strides forward in the search for treatment for cancer.
A Mastermind of Modern Medicine
The work of American biochemist and pharmacologist Gertrude B. Elion led to the creation of the drug AZT, which was the first drug that was widely used against AIDS. In 1988, Elion shared the Nobel prize George H. Hitchings and Sir James Black.
