Nancy Hopkins (scientist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nancy Hopkins
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| Born |
Nancy Doe
June 16, 1943 New York City, US
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| Alma mater | Radcliffe College Harvard |
| Spouse(s) | Brooke Hopkins (1967-1973) J. Dinsmore Adams Jr. (2007) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biology |
| Institutions | MIT |
Nancy Hopkins, born Nancy Doe on June 16, 1943, is an American scientist who studies molecular biology. She is a professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is a member of important science groups like the National Academy of Sciences.
Nancy Hopkins is famous for her research on zebrafish. She found genes needed for zebrafish to grow. She also studied how genes work in viruses and mouse cancer. Besides her science work, she is well-known for helping women scientists get fair chances in universities.
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Early Life and Education
Nancy Doe Hopkins was born in 1943 in New York City. She went to Radcliffe College and earned her first degree in 1964.
Later, she got her PhD from Harvard University in 1971. There, she worked with Professor Mark Ptashne. They discovered how a virus called lambda controls its life cycle. After Harvard, she worked at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. She studied how cells work and found that cells could fix themselves even after their center (nucleus) was removed.
Science Career and Discoveries
Nancy Hopkins joined MIT in 1973 as a professor. She started studying viruses that cause cancer in mice. She found viral genes that decide how severe the cancers would be. These included important proteins and parts of DNA called enhancers.
In 1989, she took a break to work with Nobel Prize winner Christiane Nusslein-Volhard. After this, Hopkins changed her focus to zebrafish. She and her team created a new way to study genes in fish. They used a method called "insertional mutagenesis."
Using this method, her lab found many genes essential for a zebrafish egg to grow into a swimming fish. They also found genes that could make fish more likely to get cancer. Some genes they found also caused kidney problems in fish, similar to a human disease.
How Zebrafish Help Science
Scientists use zebrafish to learn about human diseases. Nancy Hopkins wanted to make it easier to study these fish. She helped create a way to change genes in a large number of fish. This method helps scientists find out what different genes do. It was a big step forward for using zebrafish in research.
Working for Fairness in Science
In the mid-1990s, Nancy Hopkins felt that women scientists at MIT were not treated fairly. In 1994, she and 15 other women professors wrote a letter. They shared proof of unfair treatment due to hidden biases.
Because of their concerns, MIT formed a committee. Nancy Hopkins helped lead this group. The committee looked into the problems women scientists faced. In 1999, they published their findings. This report was supported by MIT's president and dean. It led to a national discussion about fairness for women in science.
Many people praised MIT for looking into itself. This effort also led to nine major universities working together. This group, called "The MIT-9," included Harvard and Stanford. They continue to study and fix issues of fairness for women scientists.
In 2020, Nancy Hopkins was in a film called "Picture a Scientist". The film showed the MIT study and its impact.
Standing Up for Equality
In 2005, Nancy Hopkins took a stand during a talk by Harvard's president, Lawrence Summers. He suggested that fewer women in science might be due to natural differences. Hopkins walked out of the talk to protest.
Her action became public and started a big discussion. People talked about fairness for women and freedom of speech in universities. This event also played a part in Summers leaving his job at Harvard.
Honors and Awards
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
- Member of the National Academy of Sciences
- Received the Margaret L. Kripke Legend Award (2012)
- Awarded an honorary doctorate by Trinity College Dublin (2014)
- Received the Alice C. Evans Award (2015)
- Received the Helen Dean King Award (2017)
Personal Life
Nancy Hopkins has been married to J. Dinsmore Adams Jr. since 2007.
