Adding to its collection of prominent scientists, Profiles in Science has added the papers of an individual who was probably the best-known American woman scientist of her time. Dr. Florence Rena Sabin, M.D. (1871-1953) was the first woman to teach at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the first woman to become appointed as a full professor at Johns Hopkins, the first woman elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and the first woman to hold a full membership at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.

"Dr. Sabin was an extraordinary scientist and made significant contributions to several fields of medical science," said Dr. Alexa McCray. "She spent one medical life as a researcher at prestigious medical institutions, and upon retirement, began another medical career as a public health official."

During her early career, Dr. Sabin's research progressed from purely descriptive anatomical studies of the nervous system and cell types to more complex investigations of the development and physiology of living tissues and the functions of living cells. Her work at the Rockefeller Institute focused on the role of immune system cells in the body's response to infection, particularly tuberculosis.

In 1938, Sabin retired to Colorado. However, she began a career in public health in 1944 when she agreed to chair the Colorado governor's post-war planning committee for health. This committee investigated health services in the state, drafted a series of health bills later known as the "Sabin Program," and then campaigned for their passage. Sabin also served as chair of an Interim Board of Health and Hospitals of Denver, and then as Manager of the Denver Department of Health and Charities until 1951. In the latter post, she launched a vigorous campaign to clean up the city, improve its sanitation, enforce health regulations for restaurants and food suppliers, and screen the population for tuberculosis and syphilis. Within two years, Denver's tuberculosis incidence was reduced from 54.7 to 27 per 100,000, and the syphilis frequency from 700 to 60 per 100,000. In 1951, Sabin received a Lasker Award for her public health work.

Profiles in Science features correspondence, published articles and reports, and photographs from the Florence Sabin collections at the American Philosophical Society and the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College.

For more information, please go to the Profiles in Science Website.