Ariel Hollinshead facts for kids

Ariel Cahill Hollinshead (born August 24, 1929 – died September 10, 2019) was an American scientist and professor. She spent her career at George Washington University. She was a pioneer in finding special markers on cancer cells called tumor antigens. She also helped develop these markers into cancer vaccines. These vaccines help the body's immune system fight cancer.

Her Early Life and Education

Ariel Cahill was born on August 24, 1929. Her family were Quakers, a religious group.

In 1947, she started studying zoology (the study of animals) and chemistry at Swarthmore College. She chose this school because it was a Quaker college. However, she soon moved to Ohio University to get a better science program. After earning her bachelor's degree there in 1951, she went to George Washington University (GW). She earned her PhD degree in 1957.

She joined the GW Medical Center as a professor in 1959. By 1974, she became a full Professor of Medicine. In 1991, she became a professor emeritus, meaning she retired but kept her title.

In 1958, Hollinshead married Montgomery K. Hyun. They had two sons together. Her husband passed away in 2016. Ariel Hollinshead died at 90 years old on September 10, 2019.

Her Amazing Research and Work

Her early research focused on oncovirology. This is the study of how viruses can cause cancer. She wanted to create cancer vaccines. In her first experiments, she used small pieces of viruses. She wanted to see if they would make an immune response in animals. As part of these tests, she used pieces of membranes from tumors caused by the virus. These were used as a control group.

To her surprise, the membrane pieces caused a much stronger immune response. Other scientists and people who funded her work were doubtful. But she was able to prove her results were correct. She then invented ways to use ultrasound to get the immune-boosting substance from these membrane pieces.

This led to one of the first discoveries of tumor antigens. These are special proteins found on cancer cells that the immune system can recognize. She then started working with human tumors from people with lung cancer. Again, she had to create new ways to get these tumor antigens from them. This important work led to the first clinical trials of cancer vaccines in the early 1970s.

She then followed the same steps to find and test tumor antigens from women with ovarian cancer. Her work led to more clinical trials in the early 1980s.

Later, she also joined the effort to develop an HIV vaccine.

Throughout her career, Ariel Hollinshead supported other women in science. She did this partly through groups like the Sigma Delta Epsilon honorary society.

Some companies were started to develop her work further. One was International BioImmune Systems, which worked on the lung cancer research. Later, Neogenix was formed (and later sold). Its main product is ensituximab. This is a special antibody created against tumor antigens that Hollinshead found.

She also served on important boards for cancer research. These included the Medical College of Pennsylvania and Neogenix Oncology, Inc.

Awards and Honors

Ariel Hollinshead received many awards for her groundbreaking work:

• In 1975, she received the Marion Spencer Fay Award from Drexel University.
• In 1976, she was named "Bicentennial Medical Woman of the Year." This was given by the Joint Board of American Medical Colleges for her cancer research.
• In 1980, she received the "Star of Europe." This honor was given by the health ministers of Germany, Italy, and England.
• She was one of nine women scientists honored at the White House by President Jimmy Carter.
• In 2013, the George Washington Alumni Association (GWAA) recognized her. They called her the "Mother of Immunotherapy."
• In 2014, she was added to the Bethel Park Great Alumni Hall of Fame. This was for her 280 published articles on immunotherapy. It was also for developing and testing 17 different clinical trials.

She was also a fellow of important scientific groups. These included the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.