Welcome to Scientist Highlights! Here we will highlight an incredible scientist each week, with particular focus on highlighting underrepresented groups within STEM. Feel free to look further into someone if you find their work interesting!

Week 1: Marie Maynard Daly (1920-2003)

Dr. Marie Maynard Daly became the first Black woman in the U.S. to earn a Doctorate in Chemistry in 1947. From Queens, Brooklyn, she attended Queen College High School and then graduated magna cum laude from Queens college with her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. She then went on to earn her doctorate in Chemistry from Columbia University, where she studied digestive enzymes. After graduating, Daly taught at Howard University before receiving a grant from the American Cancer Society and starting her postdoctoral work at Rockefeller Institute. Her postdoctoral work focused on cellular metabolism. Afterwards, she taught at College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, and then at Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she taught until her retirement.

Week 2: Ynés MexÍa (1870-1938)