Women Biochemists

Vote for Your Favourite Women Biochemists

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 1 
Jennifer Doudna
(American Biochemist Known for the Invention of 'CRISPR Gene Editing')
Jennifer Doudna
10
Birthdate: February 19, 1964
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States

American biochemist Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, who has made fundamental contributions in biochemistry and genetics, is best-known for her pioneering work in CRISPR gene-editing. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a method for genome editing through CRISPR, marking them as the only two women to share science Nobel ever.

 2 
Peggy Whitson
(Biochemistry Researcher and First Female Astronaut to Command the International Space Station)
Peggy Whitson
8
Birthdate: February 9, 1960
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Beaconsfield, Iowa, United States

The first woman to command the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson was born to farmers and decided to become an astronaut after watching the moon landing on TV. She also boasts of a PhD in biochemistry and has been a researcher and educator of biochemistry and genetic engineering.

 3 
Emmanuelle Charpentier
(Researcher)
Emmanuelle Charpentier
4
Birthdate: December 11, 1968
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Juvisy-sur-Orge, France
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
 4 
Dorothy Hodgkin
(Biochemist)
Dorothy Hodgkin
6
Birthdate: May 12, 1910
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Cairo, Egypt
Died: July 29, 1994

Dorothy Hodgkin received the 1964 Nobel Prize for mapping the structure of penicillin and Vitamin B12. She is also known for her work on insulin. Beginning her work on structure of an organic compound by using X-ray crystallography as an undergraduate student, she later developed it further and used it to determine the three-dimensional structure of complex organic molecules.

 5 
Gertrude B. Elion
(Biochemist, Pharmacologist)
Gertrude B. Elion
3
Birthdate: January 23, 1918
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: February 21, 1999

The daughter of Jewish immigrants in New York, Gertrude B. Elion excelled in chemistry at Hunter College, where she studied for free, but was initially unable to find a job due to gender bias. The renowned biochemist and pharmacologist later won a Nobel and became a pioneer in medical research.

 6 
Gerty Cori
(Biochemist)
Gerty Cori
3
Birthdate: August 15, 1896
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Prague, Czechia
Died: October 26, 1957

Austro-Hungarian-American biochemist Gerty Cori is best-known for discovering the course of catalytic conversion of glycogen with her husband Carl Ferdinand Cori for which they jointly won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. With this Gerty became the third woman to win a Nobel in science and the first to win it in this category.

 7 
Katalin Karikó
(mRNA technology in immunology and therapies)
Katalin Karikó
0
Birthdate: January 17, 1955
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Szolnok, Hungary

Hungarian biochemist Katalin Karikó is best known for her research on mRNA, which led scientists to develop the first mRNA-based vaccine in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. After working at the Biological Research Centre in Szeged, she moved to the US due to lack of funding.

 8 
Marie Maynard Daly
(Biochemist)
Marie Maynard Daly
5
Birthdate: April 16, 1921
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Corona, New York, United States
Died: October 28, 2003

Marie Maynard Daly was the first Black lady to earn a doctoral degree in chemistry in the U.S. She was inspired by her father, who had to drop out of Cornell due to lack of funds. A pioneer of biochemistry, Daly later introduced a scholarship for African-American students at Queens College.

 9 
Shannon Lucid
(American Biochemist and NASA Astronaut)
Shannon Lucid
3
Birthdate: January 14, 1943
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Shanghai, China

Shannon Lucid once held the record for the longest space stay by any woman and by any American. Born in China, to missionaries, she was imprisoned by the Japanese, along with her parents, as an infant. The family then moved to the U.S., where Lucid studied at the University of Oklahoma.

 10 
Shirley M. Tilghman
(Molecular biologist, University teacher, Biochemist)
Shirley M. Tilghman
3
Birthdate: September 17, 1946
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Toronto

Shirley Marie Tilghman, the nineteenth President of Princeton University, currently the Emeritus Professor of Molecular Biology and Public Affairs, is considered to be one of the most influential female scientists of our time. Although she is no longer involved in active research she is known for her contributions in the fields of molecular genetics, especially in genomic imprinting.

 11 
Johanna Budwig
(German Biochemist Who Developed the Budwig Diet in the 1950s)
Johanna Budwig
3
Birthdate: September 30, 1908
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Essen, Germany
Died: May 19, 2003

German biochemist and pharmacist Johanna Budwig is best remembered for her anti-cancer diet known as the Budwig diet. Her extensive research on fatty acids helped her create the diet that consists of flaxseed oil, cottage cheese, and low-fat milk. However, there’s no scientific evidence that proves the effectiveness of the diet.

 12 
Carol W. Greider
(American Molecular Biologist and Nobel Laureate)
Carol W. Greider
3
Birthdate: April 15, 1961
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: San Diego, California, United States

Carol W. Greider is a molecular biologist who discovered the enzyme telomerase in 1984. Her discovery was honored several years later when she received the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak for their work on telomeres.  The trio also shared the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for the same work.  

 13 
Margarita Salas
(Spanish Scientist Who is Known for Her Work in the Fields of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry)
Margarita Salas
2
Birthdate: November 30, 1938
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Valdés, Spain
Died: November 7, 2019

Margarita Salas was a Spanish scientist, author, and medical researcher. She is best remembered for her work in the fields of molecular genetics and biochemistry. In 2016, Margarita Salas became the first woman to be honored with the Echegaray medal. She was also the first woman from scientific background to become a member of the Royal Spanish Academy.

 14 
Maud Menten
(Canadian Physician and Chemist Best Known for Her Work on 'Enzyme Kinetics')
Maud Menten
3
Birthdate: March 20, 1879
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Port Lambton, Canada
Died: July 17, 1960

Maud Menten was a Canadian bio-medical and medical researcher. She made several important contributions to enzyme kinetics and histochemistry. She studied medicine at the University of Toronto, becoming among the first women in Canada to earn a medical doctorate. She collaborated with Leonor Michaelis to come up with the Michaelis-Menten equation model.

 15 
Frédérique Vidal
(Biochemist, Politician)
Frédérique Vidal
2
Birthdate: May 9, 1964
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Monaco
 16 
Marian Ewurama Addy
(Biochemist)
Marian Ewurama Addy
1
Birthdate: February 7, 1942
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Nkawkaw, Ghana
Died: January 14, 2014
 17 
Mildred Cohn
(American Biochemist)
Mildred Cohn
1
Birthdate: July 12, 1913
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: October 12, 2009

Apart from facing discrimination as a Russian Jew, Mildred Cohn also battled gender bias, being denied a promotion at NACA for being the only woman among the 70 staff members. Her pioneering use of NMR in the study of enzyme reactions later earned her a National Medal of Science.

 18 
Florence B. Seibert
(American Biochemist Known for Isolating a Pure Form of 'Tuberculin')
Florence B. Seibert
1
Birthdate: October 6, 1897
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Easton, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: August 23, 1991

Florence B. Seibert is remembered for developing the tuberculin test, which became the standard test for detecting TB. Defeating polio at age 3, she went on to win scholarships and made it to Yale. One of the greatest women biochemists of the U.S., she also contributed to intravenous drug therapy.

 19 
Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
(Eritrean Biogeochemist and Political Ecologist)
Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
0
Birthplace: Asmara, Eritrea
 20 
Dorothy Maud Wrinch
(British-American Mathematician and Biochemist Who Studied Protein Structure using Mathematical Tenets)
Dorothy Maud Wrinch
0
Birthdate: September 12, 1894
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Rosario, Argentina
Died: February 11, 1976

British-American mathematician and biochemist Dorothy Maud Wrinch initially gained recognition as the only female wrangler of the Mathematical Tripos in 1916. She later taught math at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and became the first woman in the world to get a doctorate in science from Oxford.

 21 
Sia Koroma
(Biochemist)
Sia Koroma
1
Birthdate: March 19, 1958
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Kono District British Sierra Leone
 22 
Muriel Wheldale Onslow
(British Biochemist Known for Her Work Concerning the Biochemistry of Anthocyanin Pigment Molecules)
Muriel Wheldale Onslow
0
Birthdate: March 31, 1880
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Birmingham, England
Died: May 19, 1932

Muriel Wheldale Onslow was a British biochemist. She is best remembered for her work concerning the biochemistry of anthocyanin pigment molecules. Wheldale Onslow was also one of the first women to be appointed as a lecturer at Cambridge.

 23 
Sharmila Bhattacharya
(Chief Scientist for Astrobionics and head of the Biomodel Performance and Behavior laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center)
Sharmila Bhattacharya
0
Birthdate: March 24, 1964
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Lagos, Nigeria
 24 
Vanessa Nadal
(American Scientist, Lawyer and Wife of Composer and Actor Lin-Manuel Miranda)
Vanessa Nadal
2
Birthdate: August 18, 1982
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: New York City, New York

Better known as Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda's wife, Vanessa Nadal is a lawyer and teaches at the Fordham Law School. She also boasts of a chemical engineering degree from MIT and has worked at Johnson & Johnson. Vanessa and Lin-Manuel were in high school together, which is where their love blossomed.