Dr. Marie M. Daly
Dr. Daly was born in Queens, New York in 1921 to a family that greatly valued education. She exemplified this trait by receiving a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1942 and subsequently finishing a masters degree in just one year. In 1947, Dr. Daly graduated from Columbia University, unknowingly becoming the first African American woman to graduate with a PhD in chemistry in the United States. Her research included studying histones and the foundational observation that “no bases other than adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine were present in appreciable amounts” in the nuclei of cells. She also was the first to link high cholesterol diets with clogged arteries and hypertension. In addition to these scientific achievements, she was passionate about increasing enrollment of minority groups in medical and graduate programs. In 1988 she established a scholarship fund for African American students studying science at Queens College. Check out the links below to learn more about Dr. Marie M. Daly.
More about Dr. Marie Daly’s life and research:
https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/marie-maynard-daly
The second half of this podcast is about Dr. Daly and has some additional details about her research:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/813023/4755926-lab-entry-14-dr-mae-jemison-dr-marie-maynard-daly
Another more detailed article about Dr. Daly:
https://medium.com/sci-illustrate-stories/marie-maynard-daly-9cca344c46d3
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