Sarah Stewart (cancer researcher) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sarah Stewart
|
|
|---|---|
Sarah Stewart
|
|
| Born | August 16, 1905 |
| Died | November 27, 1976 (aged 71) |
| Citizenship | USA |
| Alma mater | New Mexico State University Georgetown University School of Medicine |
| Known for | first describing the Polyomavirus |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Viral Oncology |
| Institutions | United States Public Health Service |
Sarah Elizabeth Stewart (August 16, 1905 – November 27, 1976) was a Mexican-American scientist. She was a pioneer in studying how viruses can cause cancer. Sarah Stewart was the first to show that cancer-causing viruses can spread between animals. She and Bernice Eddy discovered the first polyoma virus. The SE (Stewart-Eddy) polyoma virus is named after them.
Contents
About Sarah Stewart's Life
Early Years and Moving to the U.S.
Sarah Elizabeth Stewart was born on August 16, 1905. Her birthplace was Tecalitlán, Jalisco, Mexico. Her mother was Native Mexican, and her father was an American mining engineer. In 1911, her family had to leave Mexico because of the Mexican Revolution. They moved to the United States. Sarah spoke Spanish fluently her whole life. She grew up in Cottage Grove, Oregon, where she finished her early schooling.
Education and Becoming a Doctor
In 1927, Sarah earned a Bachelor of Science degree. She studied economics at New Mexico State University. She then got a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1930. In 1939, she earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Chicago.
Stewart became a professor of bacteriology at Georgetown University School of Medicine. This allowed her to take medical classes for free. In 1947, women were finally allowed to officially join the medical school. In 1949, at age 43, she became the first woman to earn an MD (Medical Doctor) degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Sarah Stewart's Career in Science
Working at NIH and USPHS
From 1935 to 1944, Stewart worked as a bacteriologist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During this time, she also finished her Ph.D. She published seven papers about a type of bacteria called anaerobic bacteria. She also helped create a vaccine for gangrene. This vaccine helped many soldiers during World War II.
In 1951, she left the NIH. She joined the United States Public Health Service at the National Cancer Institute. Here, Stewart wanted to prove that cancers and viruses were connected.
Challenges for Women in Science
Being a woman in medicine in the 1940s and 1950s was hard. When Stewart asked to work on cancer research at the NIH, she was told she wasn't qualified. After getting her medical degree, she wrote a plan for studying cancer-causing viruses. She sent it to the director of the National Cancer Institute. But she was assigned to gynecology instead. Many female doctors were given similar assignments back then.
Also, people thought cancer research and virus research were completely separate. Virologists (virus experts) were not seen as qualified for cancer research. Microbiologists (germ experts) were thought to be "overqualified." Despite these challenges, Stewart kept working on her passion. She made many important discoveries in her field.
Discovering the Polyoma Virus
In 1951, Stewart was moved to the Marine Hospital in Baltimore. There, she finally got to work in cancer research. Stewart is known for discovering the polyomavirus in 1953.
In 1956, Stewart asked Bernice Eddy for help. She wanted to grow the agent that caused tumors in mice. Eddy agreed, and they quickly figured out what this agent was. They didn't call it a virus in their papers until 1959.
Building on earlier work, Stewart and Bernice E. Eddy were the first to describe a polyomavirus. They injected mice with parts of other mice that had leukemia. They saw cancerous tumors grow that were not related to leukemia. They proved that polyomavirus could cause cancer to spread from one animal to another. This was a big step in understanding cancer.
Stewart and Eddy kept testing if viruses could cause tumors. They found that the polyomavirus could cause 20 different types of mouse tumors. They also saw tumors in hamsters and rats. Eddy suggested calling the virus "polyoma," which means "many tumors." The virus was named the Stewart-Eddy or SE polyoma virus, after them.
Their work was featured in Time magazine in 1959. This made many researchers interested in the field of viral oncology.
Other Important Discoveries
Sarah Stewart helped identify other viruses during her life. These included herpes, Burkitt's virus, and C-type viruses. C-type viruses are usually milder but have been linked to leukemia. It became clear that some viruses could lead to certain cancers. Stewart became interested in this link after Jonas Salk developed a vaccine for polio.
Later Life and Legacy
Sarah Stewart was diagnosed with cancer, the disease she studied. She first had ovarian cancer, then lung cancer, which sadly led to her death. Her friend and colleague Bernice Eddy said that Stewart kept working until she became too sick in 1974.
Stewart passed away at her home in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on November 27, 1976. She was buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in May 1977. Today, her scientific papers are kept at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. Researchers, students, and others can view them to learn about her important work.
Awards and Special Recognitions
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson gave Stewart the Federal Women's Award. This award recognized her scientific work on how viruses cause cancer. It honors women who do great work in federal service.
She also won the Lenghi Award in Rome in 1972. In the same year, she received the Daughters of Penelope Salute to Women Award. This award honors women who promote education, charity, and civic responsibility. In 1975, she won the John Carroll Award. This award is given to Georgetown University alumni who show the school's ideals.
Stewart and Dr. Bernice E. Eddy were also nominated for the Nobel Prize twice!
Today, the Sarah Stewart Scholarship at the Georgetown University School of Medicine honors her achievements. It helps new students who show great potential in academics and research.
Key Published Studies
- Stewart SE. Leukemia in mice produced by a filterable agent present in AKR leukemic tissues with notes on a sarcoma produced by the same agent [abstract]. Anat Rec. 1953;117:532.
- Stewart SE. Neoplasms in mice inoculated with cell-free extracts or filtrates of leukemic mouse tissue. I. Neoplasms of the parotid and adrenal glands. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1955;15:1391–415.
- Eddy BE, Stewart SE, Stanton MF, Marcotte JM. Induction of tumors in rats by tissue-culture preparations of SE polyoma virus. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1959;22:161–71.
See also
In Spanish: Sarah Stewart para niños
