Written by: Pallavi Pilaka-Akella
Cover Art By: Sanjana Bhatnagar
Women who have contributed to the advancement of science are often overlooked by history, but it seems as though Black woman are completely ignored! In today’s episode we are going to highlight the lifetime achievements of one such forgotten hero: Marie M. Daly. During the mid-1900s Daly became the first Black Woman in history to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry! Daly spent life making tremendous strides in everything from DNA structure, risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and the effect of smoking on the heart and lungs. Daly fought racial and gender biases to dedicate her life to advancing human health.
Marie Maynard Daly. Queens College
Silhouette Yearbook, 1942.
Marie Maynard Daly was born in Queens on April 16th, 1921. Daly first began to show an interest in science during her vacations to her grandparents’ house, where her grandfather had an extensive library filled books about famous scientists and their achievements. It’s said that she was particularly inspired by Paul de. Kruif, a Dutch American microbiologist and author of a book called Microbe Hunters. These early experiences are accredited with influencing Daly to pursue a career in science!
Daly received her bachelor’s in chemistry from Queens college, upon graduating she was named Queens College Scholar in 1942 which is awarded to the top 2.5% of the graduating class. During the 1940s the US experienced labour shortages and war efforts drove the US government to invest in research. These invests helped Daly secure a fellowship to pursue a master’s degree from New York University. Daly pursued a Ph.D. from Columbia University where she studied how amylase breaks bonds between carbohydrates in starches, converting it into sugar. Daly graduated with her Ph.D. in 1947 making her the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Columbia University and the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in chemistry in the United States. During this time in the United States only 2% of black women held college degrees. Daly’s Ph.D. in chemistry represented the beginning of a new era where women strived to have careers outside the home, also an era where racial biases would no longer limit ones’ aspirations.
Daly’s interest in science was also peaked by her father, Ivan C. Daly, who immigrated to the United States from the British West Indies. He attended Cornell University dreaming of becoming a chemist. Unfortunately, Ivan Daly’s dream was left incomplete due to a lack of funds. He worked for the post office to feed his family. His unfulfilled dreams were recognized by his impressionable daughter.
Upon fulfilling her father’s dream of becoming a chemist and earning a Ph.D., Daly was awarded the American Cancer Society grant to support her post-doctoral research under Alfred R. Mirsky at the Rockefeller Institute. Together they studied the role of ribonucleoproteins in protein synthesis. Ribonucleoproteins were what scientists called ribosomes, the structure that reads mRNA transcripts and translates it into protein. The name ribosome was coined, and the structure was discovered in animal cells by George E. Parade in 1955.
During this period (1940-1950s), Daly studied the nucleus and its contents, people knew that cells contained a nucleus but what happens in the nucleus was not clear. Scientists debated on whether genetic material is stored in DNA or protein. Daly’s research led to the identificiation of histones.
Archives of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
Ted Burrows, Photographer
Histones are essential proteins that help our DNA twist and fold into specific orientations. Her findings help scientists understand how specific genes are turned on or off and regulated by the structure of DNA. When James Watson accepted his Nobel Prize in 1962, he cited Daly’s work on ribonucleoproteins and protein synthesis as contributions to his work. Daly later recalled he experiences at Rockefeller as “awesome and inspiring”.
Investigating the contents of cellular nuclei Daly and her lab developed chromatography-based methods for separating purines and pyrimidines. DNA is made up of four sugars (A, C, G, T), A and G are classified as purines whereas Cs and Ts are called pyrimidines. Purines are larger than pyrimidines, they have a two-ring structure while pyrimidines have one ring. Daly’s lab was the first group to be able to separate purines and pyrimidines.
After making ground-breaking discoveries in genetics, Daly decided to focus on research pertaining to human health. Daly’s work with Dr. Quentin B. Deming at Columbia university was her most famous contribution to science and human health. Work with rats and various diets led her to understand the link between high cholesterol diets, clogged arteries and heart attacks and strokes. Daly also helped establish that high blood pressure led to atherosclerosis (buildup of fat, cholesterol etc. on the artery walls).
Daly had a lifelong commitment to education and helping other underrepresented students in scientific careers. She helped increase the enrolment of minority in both medical and graduate schools. One such program was the Martin Luther King-Robert F. Kennedy Program, which helped prepared African American students for university. She also recruited many African American and Puerto Rican students to the Albert Einstein college and mentored several accomplished scientists including Dr. Francine B. Essine (the first Black Woman to earn a Ph.D. in biology). In 1988 Daly founded a scholarship at Queens college in honour of her father to help students with financial trouble.
Short documentary created by Famous Biographies
Daly’s illustrious career of teaching and scientific research led to many discoveries in the fields of genomics, medicine, and chemistry! Her struggles overcoming poverty during her childhood and her lifelong struggle with racial and gender biases give everyone hope for brighter future despite how bleak today might seem. Dr. Daly legacy lives on through her contributions to science and the path she paved for racially-discriminated and female students.
Bibliography
Tribute to George E. Parade on discovery of ribosomes:
Mary M. Daly published work:
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