Gerty

Gerty Theresa Cori (née Radnitz; August 15, 1896 – October 26, 1957) was a biochemist who became the third woman—and first American woman—to win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which she shared with her husband Carl Ferdinand Cori and Bernardo Alberto Houssay, for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen.

Early life and education

Gerty was born in Prague (then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now the Czech Republic) in 1896 into a Jewish family. She was the daughter of Otto Radnitz, a chemist who became manager of sugar refineries after inventing a successful method for refining sugar. Her mother, Martha, a friend of Franz Kafka, was a culturally sophisticated woman.

Career and research

Gerty Cori completed her undergraduate studies at the Charles University in Prague in 1920. She was admitted to the medical school there later that year. Gerty and Carl Cori collaborated on research projects from the time they were in medical school and throughout their professional lives.

Personal life

Gerty married Carl Cori in August 1920. The couple moved to Buffalo, New York in 1922 and began researching metabolic mechanisms. In 1947, Gerty Cori was diagnosed with myelosclerosis, a disease of the bone marrow. She died in 1957.

Legacy

Gerty Cori's legacy is marked by her groundbreaking work in biochemistry and her status as a role model for women in science. She was posthumously awarded the Garvan–Olin Medal in 1958 and has been honored with a U.S. postage stamp and induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

See also

• List of female Nobel laureates
• List of Jewish Nobel laureates

References

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External links

• Nobel Prize Biography

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