Denise Albe-Fessard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Denise Albe-Fessard
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| Born |
Denise G. Albe
31 May 1916 Paris, France
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| Died | 7 May 2003 (aged 86) |
| Nationality | French |
| Alma mater | ESPCI Paris
(Engineering degree, 1937) University of Paris (PhD, 1950) |
| Known for | Electrophysiology Neurophysiology |
| Spouse(s) | Alfred Fessard (m, 1942; died, 1982) |
| Children | Jean Fessard |
| Awards | Knight of the Legion of Honour (1973) Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite (1978) |
Dr. Denise G. Albe-Fessard (born May 31, 1916 – died May 7, 2003) was a famous French neuroscientist. She is best known for her important research into how the central nervous system processes pain. Her work helped us understand the different ways the brain handles pain signals.
She earned an engineering degree from the School of Physique et Chimie de Paris in 1937. Later, she received a Doctor of Sciences degree from Paris University in 1950. Dr. Albe-Fessard was honored with important awards. These included being named a Knight of the Legion of Honour and an Officer of the Order of Merit.
Early in her career, Dr. Albe-Fessard studied the electrical activity of electric fish. In the 1950s, she did groundbreaking work. She was one of the first scientists to record tiny electrical signals from inside brain cells of mammals, like cats.
Early Life and School
Denise Albe-Fessard was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France, during World War I. Her parents came from farming and craft backgrounds. Her father was a railway engineer. He helped build tracks that carried soldiers and supplies to the front lines during the war.
Denise was the youngest of four children. She was lucky to get the same education as her brothers. This was more common in Paris than in other parts of France where her family came from.
When she was 10, she passed a special test at her primary school. This earned her a scholarship for a free secondary education.
She then went on to earn an engineering degree at ESPCI Paris. She chose to specialize in physics. Her brother advised her not to study medicine. He knew that women faced many challenges in that field at the time.
Career and Discoveries
After graduating from ESPCI Paris in 1937, it was hard for Denise to find work as a female physicist. She briefly worked as a chemist at a company called Rhône-Poulenc. After a month, she left and joined the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). There, she worked as a technical assistant for Daniel Auger. He was a scientist who studied the electrical activity of plants.
Working with amplifiers to measure electrical potentials in plants like Nitella taught Albe-Fessard a lot. She learned about the challenges of recording tiny bio-electric phenomena.
During her time with Daniel Auger, she met Alfred Fessard (1900-1982). He was a nervous physiologist and electrophysiologist. They married in 1942. Denise Albe-Fessard was very skilled at building electronic equipment. She built the stimulators and amplifiers that Alfred used for his studies in electrophysiology. Later, she became the director of the physiological laboratory of nervous centers.
Dr. Albe-Fessard played a big role in the scientific community. In 1975, she led the scientific committee for the first international meeting on pain. This important event took place in Florence, Italy. From 1978 to 1984, she was a member of several other important committees.
She also became the first president of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). She held this position from 1975 to 1978.
Awards and Honors
Denise Albe-Fessard received many honors for her important work:
- Knight of the Legion of Honour (1973)
- Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite (1978)
- Elected as the first president of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) (1975-1978)
