Mildred Cohn was a pioneer in the research of using stable
isotopes to study metabolic processes and mechanisms of enzymatic reactions.
She was born on July 12, 1913 in New York City. Her father had studied to be a
Rabbi, but eventually left rabbinical school to become an inventor instead.
While working in a tailor shop, he invented a machine for cutting cloth more
accurately.
As an inventor, Mildred would grow up to follow in her
fathers footsteps.
Early Education
A bright child, Cohn graduated from high school at age 14.
She went on to attend Hunter
College, where she
received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Chemistry in 1931. At the time, Hunter College
focused on training future chemistry teachers, not aspiring chemists.
Although her professors at Hunter discouraged her from
pursing a graduate degree, Mildred Cohn enrolled in the graduate Chemistry
program at Columbia
University. She was
awarded a Master's degree in Chemistry in 1932, but was forced to leave the doctoral
program when she could only afford only one year of graduate school.
Cohn then went to work for the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics (NACA) to save enough money to finish her doctorate at Columbia. Later, NACA would
become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at Langley
Field.
Prize-Winning
Influences
When she returned to Columbia,
Mildred Cohn asked to study under chemist Harold Urey, who'd just won the Nobel
Prize in Chemistry in 1934. Urey tried to discourage Cohn, saying that he
didn't mentor students much and preferred that they educated themselves. After
much persistence from Cohn, however, Urey let her join his research group.
While working for Urey, Cohn studied ways of separating
different isotopes of carbon, but encountered equipment troubles. She later
wrote her dissertation on the behavior of isotopes of oxygen. In 1938, she earned
her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry.
After receiving her degree, Mildred Cohn became a research
associate in the biochemistry department at George Washington
University (1937-38). While at George Washington, she worked as a
biochemist under Vincent du Vigneaud – another Nobel recipient. When Vigneaud
left to work at Cornell
University, Cohn went
with him. Around the same time, Cohn married physicist Henry Primakoff.
Traveling Professor
Mildred Cohn stayed at Cornell until 1946, when her husband
received a faculty appointment at Washington
University in St. Louis, Missouri.
There, she was able to obtain a biochemistry research position alongside Nobel
honorees Carl and Gerty Cori. Mildred Cohn was promoted to research associate
professor in 1958. During that time, she was also an established investigator
for the American Heart Association (AHA).
In 1960, Cohn and her husband left St.
Louis to teach at the University
of Pennsylvania. There,
Mildred Cohn worked as an associate professor of biophysics and physical
biochemistry. She became a full professor a year later. In 1982, Cohn retired
as the Benjamin Rush Professor Emerita of Physiological Chemistry.
Throughout her career, Mildred Cohn published over 160
scientific articles covering research on isotopes, adenosine triphosphate (ATP),
and oxidative phosphorylation. She was also among the first to apply electron
spin and nuclear magnetic resonance to investigate metabolism.
In addition, Mildred Cohn was the first woman to be
appointed to the Journal of Biological
Chemistry, where she served as an editor for ten years. Cohn has also received
honorary doctorates from nine universities, and was the recipient of the
National Academy of Science's National Medal of Science.
Resources:
http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/mowihsp/bios/cohn.htm
http://www.chemheritage.org/women_chemistry/body/cohn.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mildred_Cohn
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