Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was born on July 19, 1921, in Bronx, New York. She attended college at New York's Hunter College, graduating with honors in physics and chemistry in 1941.

Yalow applied for entry in Purdue University's graduate physics program, but she was rejected. Purdue said its reasons were, "She is from New York. She is Jewish. She is a woman."

Yalow did not give up. She applied to and was accepted by the University of Illinois. She received her Ph.D. in nuclear physics there.

She retired in 1991 and now spends her time calling for more science education, better child care, and various other causes.

Rosalyn Yalow's primary accomplishment involves the creation of a new analytic technique called the radioimmunoassay, or the RIA. This technique allowed quantifying very small amounts of biological substances in body fluids using radioactive-labeled material. This made it possible to diagnose conditions caused by minute changes in hormone levels. RIA was used in 1951 to show that adult diabetics did not always suffer from insuffiency of insulin in their blood and that some unknown factor must be blocking the action of insulin.

Many practical uses were discovered for RIA. It has been used to screen blood for hepatitis virus in blood banks, to determiune effective dosage levels of drugs and antibiotics, to detect foreign substances in the blood, and to test and correct hormone levels in infertile couples.

Yalow has received many awards throughout her career. In 1976, she became the first woman to be awarded the Albert Lasker Prize for Basic Medical Research. She shared the Nobel Proze in Physiology or Medicine in 1977 for her RIA work. And in 1988, she was awarded the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest science award.

Source:
Biography of Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, Danuta Bois. Distinguished Women of Past and Present.
Photograph of Rosalyn Sussman Yalow © CWP and Regents of the University of California.