Grace E. Pickford facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Grace Pickford
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Born | Bournemouth, England, UK
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March 24, 1902
Died | January 20, 1986 | (aged 82)
Alma mater | University of Cambridge University of Cambridge |
Spouse(s) | G. Evelyn Hutchinson (1931–1934) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Endocrinology, Ichthyology |
Institutions | Albertus Magnus College Yale University |
Grace Evelyn Pickford (born March 24, 1902, died January 20, 1986) was an amazing American scientist. She was a biologist and an endocrinologist. This means she studied living things and how hormones work in their bodies. She was known for creating clever tools and methods. Her work on fish blood and hormones was especially important.
Contents
A Life of Discovery
Grace Pickford was born in Bournemouth, England, in 1902. She went to Newnham College at Cambridge University. There, she helped start the Cambridge University Biological Tea Club. At that time, Cambridge University did not give official degrees to women. So, she received a special certificate for her studies.
Early Research and Education
After Cambridge, Grace traveled to South Africa. She collected and studied earthworms there. These worms are called oligochaetes. In 1931, she earned her Ph.D. degree at Yale University. Her studies on the South African earthworms were the basis for her Ph.D.
Working at Yale
Grace joined the Bingham Oceanographic Laboratory at Yale in 1931. She worked there for the next 40 years. She started as an assistant professor in 1934. Later, she became an associate professor in 1959. Finally, she became a full professor of biology at Yale in 1969. She retired shortly after, in 1970. Grace also taught at Albertus Magnus College, a women's college.
Exploring the World
Grace Pickford went on many research trips. One notable trip was the 1951 Danish Galathea expedition. She studied many different kinds of living things during her career.
Understanding Hormones
Grace is best known for her important work in comparative endocrinology. This field compares how hormones work in different animals. She studied a hormone called prolactin in great detail. She found that in killifish, prolactin is needed to keep their bodies balanced in fresh water. This balance is called osmotic balance. Her discovery was very important for understanding prolactin in all animals with backbones.
Her 1957 book, "The Physiology of the Pituitary Gland of Fishes," is a classic. Many scientists still use it today. It is like a "bible" for studying hormones in fish and other lower animals. While doing this work, Grace developed many useful techniques. Scientists still use these methods today in hormone studies.
Studying Unique Animals
Grace also showed that the Latimeria, a very old type of fish, uses urea to control its blood pressure. This is similar to how sharks do it. On the 1951 Galatea expedition, she studied the Vampyroteuthis. This deep-sea creature looks like both an octopus and a squid. She created clever ways to study animals in the deep ocean. Her large collection of water beetles is now kept at Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History.
Grace Pickford was married for a short time (from about 1931 to 1934) to another biologist, G. Evelyn Hutchinson.
Awards and Honors
Grace Pickford received many awards for her amazing work:
- She was a Distinguished Scientist in Residence at Hiram College.
- She received the Wilbur Cross Medal from Yale in 1981.
- The Grace Pickford Medal in Comparative Endocrinology was created in her honor in 1980. This medal is given by the International Federation of Comparative Endocrinology Societies. It is considered the highest honor in the field of comparative endocrinology.