Gertrude B. Elion
Scientists

Gertrude B. Elion Net Worth

Gertrude B. Elion was an American biochemist and pharmacologist who, along with George H. Hitchings and Sir James Black, won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Born to Lithuanian immigrant parents in New York City, Elion developed an interest in medical science after witnessing her grandfather's struggle with cancer. She went on to obtain a degree in chemistry from Hunter College and a master's degree from New York University. Despite her qualifications, she was unable to obtain a research position due to her gender. She eventually joined the Burroughs Wellcome Laboratories, where she and Hitchings developed several new drugs to treat life-threatening diseases. Elion officially retired in 1983 but continued to be active in research for many years afterwards.
Gertrude B. Elion is a member of Scientists

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Biochemist, Pharmacologist
Birth Day January 23, 1918
Birth Place New York City, New York, United States, United States
Age 102 YEARS OLD
Died On February 21, 1999(1999-02-21) (aged 81)\nChapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Birth Sign Aquarius
Citizenship United States
Alma mater Hunter College New York University
Awards Garvan-Olin Medal (1968) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1988) National Medal of Science (1991) Lemelson-MIT Prize (1997) National Inventors Hall of Fame (1991) ForMemRS (1995)
Institutions Burroughs Wellcome Duke University
Website www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1988/elion-bio.html

💰 Net worth

Gertrude B. Elion, a renowned biochemist and pharmacologist from the United States, is projected to have a net worth ranging from $100,000 to $1 million in the year 2024. Elion's significant contributions to the field of science have earned her recognition and acclaim. Known for her groundbreaking work in the development of various life-saving drugs, she revolutionized the medical world with her research. With her immense knowledge and tireless efforts, Elion's net worth reflects her successful career and the impact she has made on society through her scientific achievements.

Biography/Timeline

1918

Elion was born in New York City on January 23, 1918, to parents Robert Elion, a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant and a dentist, and Bertha Cohen, a Polish immigrant. Her family lost their wealth after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. When she was 15, her grandfather died of cancer, instilling in her a Desire to do all she could to try and cure the disease. She graduated from Hunter College in 1937 with a degree in chemistry and New York University (M.Sc.) in 1941, while working as a high school Teacher during day time. Her fifteen fellowship applications were turned down due to gender bias at the time, so she enrolled in a secretarial school, which lasted six weeks before she found a job.

1941

Soon after graduating from Hunter College, Elion met Leonard Canter, an outstanding statistics student at City College of New York (CCNY). They planned to marry, but Leonard became ill. On June 25, 1941 he died from bacterial endocarditis, an infection of his heart valves.

1950

Unable to obtain a graduate research position, she worked as a food quality supervisor at A&P supermarkets, and for a food lab in New York, testing the acidity of pickles and the color of egg yolk going into mayonnaise. Later, she left to work as an assistant to George H. Hitchings at the Burroughs-Wellcome pharmaceutical company in Tuckahoe, New York (now GlaxoSmithKline). Hitchings was using a new way of developing drugs, by imitating natural compounds instead of through trial and error. He believed that if he could trick cancer cells into accepting artificial compounds for growth, they could be destroyed without also destroying normal cells. She began to work with purines, and in 1950, she developed the anti-cancer drugs tioguanine and 6-MP.

1967

During 1967 she occupied the position of the head of the company's Department of Experimental Therapy and officially retired in 1983. Despite her retirement, Elion continued working almost full-time at the lab, and oversaw the adaptation of azidothymidine (AZT), which became the first drug used for treatment of AIDS.

1968

Awards include the Garvan-Olin Medal (1968), the National Medal of Science (1991), and the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award (1997). In 1991 Elion became the first woman to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In 1992, she was elected to the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame. She was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1995.

1971

She was affiliated with Duke University as Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology and of Experimental Medicine from 1971 to 1983 and Research Professor from 1983 to 1999.

1988

In 1988 Elion received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, together with Hitchings and Sir James Black for discoveries of "important new principles of drug treatment". She was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1990, a member of the Institute of Medicine in 1991 and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences also in 1991.

1989

She began to go to night school at New York University Tandon School of Engineering (then Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute), but after several years of long range commuting, she was informed that she would no longer be able to continue her doctorate on a part-time basis, but would need to give up her job and go to school full-time. Elion made what was then a critical decision in her life, to stay with her job and give up the pursuit of a doctorate. She never obtained a formal Ph.D., but was later awarded an honorary Ph.D from New York University Tandon School of Engineering (then Polytechnic University of New York) in 1989 and honorary SD degree from Harvard university in 1998.

1999

Elion never married or had children. She listed her hobbies as photography, travel and listening to music. After Burroughs Wellcome moved to Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, Elion moved to nearby Chapel Hill. Gertrude Elion died in North Carolina in 1999, aged 81.

Some Gertrude B. Elion images

About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.