Mildred Cohn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mildred Cohn
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| Born | July 12, 1913 New York City, New York, US
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| Died | October 12, 2009 (aged 96) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
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| Alma mater | Hunter College, Columbia University |
| Spouse(s) | Henry Primakoff |
| Children | Three |
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| Awards | Garvan–Olin Medal (1963) Elliott Cresson Medal (1975), National Medal of Science (1982) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physical Biochemistry |
| Institutions | National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, University of Pennsylvania |
| Doctoral advisor | Harold Urey |
| Influences | Vincent du Vigneaud |
Mildred Cohn (July 12, 1913 – October 12, 2009) was an American biochemist. She helped us understand how chemical reactions work inside animal cells. She was one of the first scientists to use a special method called nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to study how enzymes help chemical reactions happen. She especially focused on reactions involving adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is like the energy currency of cells.
In 1982, she received the National Medal of Science, which is the highest science award in the United States. She was also honored by being added to the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Early life
Mildred Cohn was born on July 12, 1913, in the Bronx, New York City. Her parents, Isidore and Bertha Cohn, were Jewish and had moved to the United States from Russia around 1907. Her father was a rabbi.
When Mildred was 13, her family moved to a special community called Heim Gesellschaft. This community spoke Yiddish and strongly believed in education, art, and helping others.
Education
Mildred Cohn finished high school when she was only 14 years old. She then went to Hunter College. This college was free and open to all qualified women, no matter their background. She earned her Bachelor's degree with honors in 1931.
She managed to attend Columbia University for one year. However, she could not get a special assistant job because she was a woman. After getting her master's degree in 1932, she worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics for two years. Even though her boss was supportive, she was the only woman among 70 men. She was told she would never get a promotion there.
So, she went back to Columbia University. She studied with Harold Urey, who had just won the Nobel Prize. Mildred first tried to study different types of carbon. But her equipment broke, so she changed her project. She ended up writing her main paper on oxygen isotopes. She earned her PhD in physical chemistry in 1938.
Career
After getting her PhD, Mildred Cohn got a job at Washington University in St. Louis. She worked in the lab of Vincent du Vigneaud. There, she studied how sulfur-amino acids work in the body using special radioactive sulfur. She was a pioneer in using these "tracers" to follow chemical processes. When du Vigneaud moved his lab, Mildred and her husband, Henry Primakoff, also moved to New York City.
In 1946, her husband got a job back at Washington University in St. Louis. Mildred also found a research position there with Carl and Gerty Cori. In their lab, she could choose her own research topics.
She used nuclear magnetic resonance to study how phosphorus reacts with ATP. This helped her discover a lot about ATP's structure and how it works. She also learned about oxidative phosphorylation, which is how cells make energy. She found out how certain metal ions help enzymes change ATP into ADP.
Mildred Cohn once said that one of her most exciting moments was in 1958. Using NMR, she saw the three peaks of ATP for the first time. This meant she could tell the three phosphorus atoms of ATP apart, which had never been done before! She also used oxygen isotopes to show how water is part of the energy-making process in cells.
In 1958, she became an associate professor. In 1960, Cohn and her husband moved to the University of Pennsylvania. Mildred became an associate professor of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry. The next year, she became a full professor.
In 1964, she was the first woman to receive the American Heart Association's Lifetime Career Award. This award supported her research until she was 65. In 1971, she was chosen to be part of the National Academy of Sciences. She retired in 1982. In 1984, she received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
During her career, Mildred Cohn worked with four scientists who won Nobel Prizes:
- Harold Urey, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1934
- Carl and Gerty Cori, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1947
- Vincent du Vigneaud, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1955
Achievements
Mildred Cohn wrote 160 scientific papers. Most of these were about her main research: using nuclear magnetic resonance to study ATP. She also received several honorary doctorates from different universities.
She won the Garvan–Olin Medal in 1963. In 1968, she became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She received the Elliott Cresson Medal in 1975 for her work on enzymes using NMR. In 1979, she won the International Organization of Women Biochemists Award. She also received the Chandler Medal from Columbia University in 1986.
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan gave her the National Medal of Science. This was for her groundbreaking work using special tracers and NMR to study how enzymes help chemical reactions.
Mildred Cohn was also a pioneer for women in science. She was the first woman to join the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. She was also the first woman to become president of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. And she was the first female career investigator for the American Heart Association. In 2009, she was added to the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York.
Marriage
Mildred Cohn was married to the physicist Henry Primakoff from 1938 until he passed away in 1983. They had three children, and all of them earned doctorates. Mildred Cohn once said that marrying Henry was her "greatest piece of luck." She explained that he was a great scientist who saw her as an equal and always believed she should follow her science career.
Images for kids
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Mildred Cohn speaking at the Science History Institute in 2005.
See also
In Spanish: Mildred Cohn para niños
