Rosalyn Yalow – 1977 Nobel Prize in Medicine
“Initially, new ideas are rejected,” Rosalyn Yalow tells a group of young students. “Later they become dogma, if you’re right. And if you’re really lucky you can publish your rejections as part of your Nobel presentation.” The ideas Yalow refers to are her Nobel-prize winning innovations in the field of radioimmunoassay (RIA). As a medical physicist born in the 1920s, it’s no surprise that Yalow was only the second woman to win the Nobel Prize for medicine, which she shared in 1977 with Roger Guillemin and Andrew V. Schally for unrelated research. Yalow’s technique for measuring substances in the human body was recognized for its myriad of potential uses and practical applications, such as screening blood donors for diseases. After awarding Yalow the prize, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden claimed that her research “brought a revolution in biological and medical research. We are witnessing the birth of a new era of endocrinology, one that starts with Yalow.”
To read more, click here: The Science and Life Behind the Prize
If the war had not been happening, do you think that her great determination would have still made her a world renown scientist?
I do. I think a determination of that caliber can take people as far as they can imagine. While the coming of the war held fortune circumstances for her in this respect, there’s no doubt some other opportunity would have inevitably presented itself, or else she would have made one!
Was she recognized for her work in the field of nuclear physics?
Yes, actually her major field of research was based on applied nuclear physics into clinical medicine. When Rosalyn first begun doing research at the Bronx Veterans Hospital, it was because Dr. Roswit appreciated her determination and offered her a position with lab space where she worked as a consultant in nuclear physics. The research conducted there led to her award-winning experiments with RIA. In 1970, she was appointed chief of nuclear medicine service, a position she held for sixteen years.
What was her research about and what impact does it have on us today?
Studies in radioisotopes revealed their ability to track specific substances, such as focusing in on certain particles or proteins in the blood. The two first investigated applications of radioisotopes in blood volume determination, clinical diagnosis of thyroid diseases, and iodine metabolism kinetics. These techniques were extrapolated and used to study the distribution of globin and serum proteins (proteins present in blood plasma). These proteins serve many functions in relation to movement through and with blood, like transporting lipids, hormones, vitamins and metals in the circulatory system. These methods were then applied to peptides, which are distinguished from proteins on the basis of size.
Yalow’s research was applied to testing blood donors for hepatitis, detecting certain cancers, identifying hormone-related issues, and measuring the effectiveness of various antibiotics and drug doses.
Due to her rewarding time in science research, Did Rosalyn Yalow do anything outside to lab to encourage other women to enter the scientific fields?
Rosalyn was also a professor at Hunter and taught classes in many of the areas she herself studied.
She was a member of the President’s Study Group on Careers for Women from 1966 to 1967.
Besides teaching and mentoring, Rosalyn was a model to look after for young aspiring women.
Can you name some of the most notable people that worked in her lab?
Dr.Edith Quimby – leading medical physicist at Montifiore Bronx
Dr. Bernard Roswit – physician at Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital
Dr. Solomon A Berson – research partner
Dr. Eugene Straus – collaborator after Berson
What kind of challenges did she face?
Getting an education was one huge challenge she faced, as finding a school willing to accept a woman into a physics department was close to impossible. Thanks to war-time circumstance she finally got her break into academia. Once out of school, Rosalyn was appreciated for her abilities and determination, traits which spoke for themselves as she made many connections with big names in the medical and physics community that graciously unlocked doors for her.
She and Solomon also faced challenges when trying to publish their research pertaining to insulin antibodies (which was fundamental to the advancement of RIA research) when most scientific journals refused. It was a bold discovery that challenged previously accepted understandings, as do most game-changer discoveries. Scientists just could not wrap their heads around the idea that antibodies could recognize molecules as small as insulin. Only after deleting a reference to antibodies did the Journal of Clinical Investigation accept their paper.
Do you think she left an impact on woman attending college at the time?
I would like to think so. If fellow students saw what she was doing, they would either think she had her head in the clouds, or that she was a visionary. Those who break free of conformity are always questioned and faced with adversity, but they aren’t ever completely alone in their desires. There were other aspiring female scientists that may have been dejected by circumstance, but saw Yalow’s ambition and were inspired. I’m just speculating here, but I’d hope she was an inspiration!
Do you think that she would have been as successful without men leaving the field of study for war?
Similar to the question above regarding war-time circumstance and Yalow’s determination, I do believe she would have been just as successful without this opportunity. Even after she got her break from the University of Illinois, she still was the main variable in deciding her future. Entering the world outside of academia was not welcoming to female scientists any more than universities, but through her personality, drive, and intellect, she paved her way through the medical/physics community and made herself known. Higher-ups called in jobs for her after recognizing the potential! I’m sure someone as well-rounded and determined as Yalow would have been just as successful through alternative paths eventually!
What were some of her interests and hobbies outside of research?
Besides her dedication to building a family and being a mother, to be perfectly honest, I could not find much on her outside interests.
I guess her research dominates.
How did Yaslow credit CUNY for her academic success?
Blatantly. She attended Hunter college for her undergraduate, but since they only offered a physics major when Yalow was in her senior year, not much of her background in her areas of expertise can be attributed to the CUNY system. She did take a night course at City College in thermodynamics as well. Most of her education in physics came in graduate school, and in the field of medicine came from in-the-lab practice and mentorship with collaborators.
Did she face any hardships due to her gender?
Quite a few actually. College was not so much an issue because Hunter was an all-women school, but even then, only certain areas were taught because of this specification. Graduate schools in STEM areas rejected admission to women and kept spots in these programs exclusively for men. In a rejection letter from a Midwestern university, they said, “She is from New York. She is Jewish. She is a woman.” So yes, no doubt there were gender-related hardships, but there were many more that she overcame as well!
How did she balance research and home life? I think she married and was a mother, wasn’t she? (Based on previous comments)
For Rosalyn, her research and career always seemed to hold great importance. Although married while at school in Illinois, she left her husband behind to accept a research position in New York while he finished his delayed thesis. Years later during the period when she was at Bronx VA working full time, she and her husband had two children. She admitted she needed live-in help until her son was nine, and after that worked part-time. She “took pride in growing our children.” So at some point in career vs creating a family, there must be an established balance. Yalow didn’t let her relationship early on hinder her from accepting opportunities, but taking off time from research to raise children was not seen as a loss or a detriment. She still did great research, but realized she must split her time a bit more in order to enjoy both sides of her busy life.
You mention that Yalow is proud to publish once rejected ideas…how did she react to these rejections? Why did she feel the need to pursue them instead of starting her research over?
She and Berson were steadfast to their beliefs, and had seen firsthand what applications of this research could lead to. I think being met with resistance only made them more determined to find a way to get their work published, because it meant that their ideas were too drastic to be believed. They knew these findings were groundbreaking, and the main issue was getting journals and scientists to comprehend the validity of the study. With full confidence in the legitimacy of their work, they had to set out making this research palpable and believable with proof and determination. Eventually, people would realize the truth, but a convincing argument is always needed to persuade minds to accept science that contradicts past or present notions.