Adding to its collection of prominent scientists,
Profiles in Science
has added the papers of an individual who was probably the
best-known American woman scientist of her time. Dr. Florence
Rena Sabin, M.D. (1871-1953) was the first woman to teach at
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the first woman to
become appointed as a full professor at Johns Hopkins, the
first woman elected to the National Academy of Sciences,
and the first woman to hold a full membership at the
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.
"Dr. Sabin was an extraordinary scientist and made significant
contributions to several fields of medical science," said
Dr. Alexa McCray. "She spent one medical life as a researcher
at prestigious medical institutions, and upon retirement, began
another medical career as a public health official."
During her early career, Dr. Sabin's research progressed from
purely descriptive anatomical studies of the nervous system
and cell types to more complex investigations of the development
and physiology of living tissues and the functions of living
cells. Her work at the Rockefeller Institute focused on the
role of immune system cells in the body's response to infection,
particularly tuberculosis.
In 1938, Sabin retired to Colorado. However, she began a
career in public health in 1944 when she agreed to chair
the Colorado governor's post-war planning committee for health.
This committee investigated health services in the state,
drafted a series of health bills later known as the "Sabin
Program," and then campaigned for their passage. Sabin also
served as chair of an Interim Board of Health and Hospitals of
Denver, and then as Manager of the Denver Department of Health
and Charities until 1951. In the latter post, she launched a
vigorous campaign to clean up the city, improve its sanitation,
enforce health regulations for restaurants and food suppliers,
and screen the population for tuberculosis and syphilis. Within
two years, Denver's tuberculosis incidence was reduced from 54.7
to 27 per 100,000, and the syphilis frequency from 700 to 60 per
100,000. In 1951, Sabin received a Lasker Award for her public
health work.
Profiles in Science features correspondence, published articles
and reports, and photographs from the Florence Sabin collections
at the American Philosophical Society and the Sophia Smith
Collection at Smith College.
For more information, please go to the
Profiles in Science Website.
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