Evelyn Nicol facts for kids

Evelyn Marie Carmon Nicol (June 2, 1930 – May 27, 2020) was an amazing American scientist. She studied the body's defense system (called immunology) and tiny living things like bacteria and viruses (called microbiology). Dr. Nicol was the first scientist to find and separate the herpes zoster virus, which causes shingles. She was also one of the few African American women at the time to get a special legal right (a patent) for a new way to make a medicine called urokinase. This medicine helps dissolve blood clots.

Early Life and Education

Growing Up in Kentucky

Evelyn Nicol was born in Little Rock, Kentucky. She was one of 11 children. Her father, Daniel Eugene Carmon, was a schoolteacher. Her mother, Margarite Wilson Carmon, took care of their home.

Even though her family didn't have much money, Evelyn remembered having lots of fun. She felt she couldn't have grown up any better.

Learning and Schooling

The local school in her town only went up to eighth grade. It also didn't have many resources. Because of this, Evelyn's father taught his children extra lessons at home. He made sure they learned a lot.

During her high school years, Evelyn worked to earn money. She helped out in people's homes. This helped her save up for her future.

University Studies

After high school, Evelyn received a scholarship to Tuskegee University. She was supposed to study Home Economics. However, when she got to the university in Alabama in 1949, she decided to study Mathematics and Chemistry instead.

To pay for her studies, Evelyn worked two jobs. She worked hard and graduated at the very top of her class in 1953. She earned honors like Beta Kappa Chi and Alpha Kappa Mu for her excellent grades.

Research and Career Achievements

Working on Polio and Shingles

From 1953 to 1955, Evelyn Nicol worked as a research assistant. She joined the Salk Polio Project at the Carver Research Foundation. Here, she helped develop the first polio vaccine. She worked under the guidance of Dr. Russel W. Brown.

After this, Nicol joined the Cleveland City Hospital. She worked with important scientists like Frederick C. Robbins and John F. Enders. It was here that she made a huge discovery. She was the first person to successfully find and separate the herpes zoster virus. This virus is what causes shingles. She used special cells called amniotic cells to grow the virus in a lab.

New Opportunities and Discoveries

Because of her early successes, Evelyn Nicol was asked to join the Rand Development Corporation. There, she worked on finding the cause of leukemia, a type of cancer. During this time, she also worked at the University of Kansas Medical Center and the Michael Reese Hospital.

In 1962, Nicol started working at Abbott Laboratories. Sadly, she faced unfair treatment from some of her white co-workers. They would sometimes take credit for her work or try to make her work harder.

Despite these challenges, Evelyn Nicol achieved many great things. On January 6, 1976, she received a patent for a new way to make urokinase. This is a medicine that helps dissolve dangerous blood clots. Getting this patent was a big deal. She was one of only a few African American women to get a patent in molecular biology at that time. While at Abbott, she also created a test for toxoplasmosis in pregnant women. This is an infection that can harm babies. She also developed a test for interferon, which are proteins that help fight viruses.

Leading the Way at Baxter Pharmaceuticals

In 1985, Evelyn Nicol was hired by Baxter Pharmaceuticals. She became a leader in their group that studied retroviruses. These are special types of viruses. Her team created testing kits for diseases that spread through blood, like HIV.

Two independent studies showed that the testing kits her team made were the best available. While at Baxter, Dr. Nicol used her leadership position to fight against unfair treatment at work. She pushed for fairer ways to hire people. For example, she hired Linda Smith, whose application had been rejected. It was likely rejected because Linda had studied at a historically Black university.

Later, Baxter Pharmaceuticals was bought by Abbott Laboratories, her old employer. Evelyn Nicol decided to retire in 1990. She did not want to work for a company that had treated her unfairly in the past.

Personal Life

Evelyn Nicol had three children. After she retired, she lived in Waukegan, Illinois. Later, she moved to Weston, Connecticut. In May 2020, at 89 years old, she became sick. She passed away from complications of the virus.