Marie Maynard Daly studied the causes of heart attacks and
helped discover some of the effects of high cholesterol levels, sugar, and
cigarette smoking on the heart and its arteries. She was the first African American woman to
be awarded a Ph.D. in Chemistry.
Education & Early
Career
Daly was born on April 16, 1921 and raised in Corona, Queens. She spent her childhood reading about
scientists and dreamed of continuing the
legacy of her father, who began a degree in chemistry but ran out of funding to
finish. Throughout her life, she
obtained several degrees:
- Queens College - BS Chemistry in 1942
- New York University - MS Chemistry in 1944
- Columbia University - Ph.D. Chemistry in 1947
After graduation Daly conducted research at Howard
University.
Heart Attack Research
In 1955, Daly collaborated with Dr. Quentin B. Deming to study
the underlying causes of heart attacks. She
obtained funding through the American Cancer Society and her research helped
find:
- High cholesterol levels contribute to the
blockage of arteries that supply oxygen to the heart
- The effects of sugar on the function of coronary
arteries
- The impact of cigarette smoking on the lungs
In 1960, Daly's research moved to Yeshiva University at the
Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. She began teaching biochemistry in addition
to continuing her research. She was a
champion for diversity and worked to increase the number of minorities in
science.
As an investigator for the American Heart Association, Daly
studied how hypertension affects the circulatory system. In 1988, she established a scholarship for
African American chemistry and physics majors at Queens College in memory of
her father. Daly died on October 8,
2003.
Resources:
BlackPast.org - Marie
Maynard Daly
Chemical Heritage Foundation - Marie
Maynard Daly
Wikipedia - Marie Maynard Daly
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