Linda C. Meade-Tollin facts for kids

Linda Celida Meade-Tollin (born August 16, 1944) is an American scientist. She is a biochemist and studies cancer. Her work at the University of Arizona focused on how DNA gets damaged and how cancer spreads. She also led a special office there to help women get into science and engineering. She was the first woman to be the chairperson of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).

Early Life and Education

Linda Meade-Tollin was born in London, West Virginia, on August 16, 1944. Her father was a dentist and her mother was a teacher. She was a very bright student and skipped two grades. This meant she started high school at a young age.

Her first year of high school was special because it was the first time the school allowed students of all races to learn together. It was also the first chance for Linda and other girls to take science classes.

At 16, she started college at West Virginia State College. She studied chemistry and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1964 when she was 19.

She then went to Hunter College and got her Master of Science degree in biochemistry in 1969. Before continuing her studies, she worked at Harlem and Bellevue Hospitals.

At 21, she began her Ph.D. program in chemistry at the City University of New York (CUNY). After one year, she changed her focus to biochemistry. She finished her Ph.D. in 1972. Her research was about how genes work in a type of bacteria called E. coli.

Career in Science

After getting her Ph.D., Dr. Meade-Tollin became a professor at the College at Old Westbury. At the same time, she was a visiting professor at Rockefeller University. There, she studied sickle cell anemia as part of a research team.

In 1975, she moved to the University of Arizona in Tucson. She received a special fellowship for biochemistry research. At that time, she was the only Black woman leading a biomedical research lab there. Her work focused on how DNA can be damaged and how cancer grows and spreads.

One of her important research areas was angiogenesis. This is the process where new blood vessels form. She studied how to stop new blood vessels from growing to tumors. Her team looked at desert plants and fungi to find natural ingredients that could help treat cancer.

At the University of Arizona, Dr. Meade-Tollin also directed the Office of Women in Science and Engineering. She worked hard to create workshops and conferences. These events encouraged more women to choose careers in science and engineering.

She also spent a year teaching at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. In 1993, she made history by becoming the first female national chairperson of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).

Dr. Meade-Tollin retired from the University of Arizona in 2008.

Awards and Recognition

Dr. Meade-Tollin has received several awards for her important work:

• 1987 & 1988: Minority Investigator award from the National Cancer Institute.
• 1994: Minority Investigator award from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
• 1998: Award from NOBCChE for her contributions to biochemistry and medical research.
• She also served on the board of an international science journal called Acta Histochemica.

Personal Life

Dr. Meade-Tollin met Gordon Tollin while they were both working at Rockefeller University. They later married but are now divorced. During her time at the University of Arizona, she also cared for her aging parents. As of 2012, she lives in Tucson.