Gertrude Belle Elion (January 23, 1918 – February 21, 1999) was an American biochemist and pharmacologist, and a 1988 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Born in New York City to Jewish immigrant parents, she graduated from Hunter College in 1937 and New York University (M.Sc.) in 1941. Unable to obtain a graduate research position due to her sex, she worked as a lab assistant and a high school teacher, before becoming an assistant to George H. Hitchings at the Burroughs-Wellcome pharmaceutical company (now GlaxoSmithKline). She never obtained a formal Ph.D., but she was later awarded an honorary Ph.D from George Washington University. January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon (φάρμακον) meaning drug, and logos (λόγος) meaning science) is the study of how chemical substances interact with living systems. ... List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physiology or Medicine from 1901 to the present day. ... Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... Hunter College of The City University of New York See also: Hunter College High School Hunter College of The City University of New York (known more commonly as simply Hunter College) is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), located on Manhattans Upper East Side. ... New York University (NYU) is a major research university in New York City. ... The hand mirror and comb of the Roman Goddess Venus is often used to represent the female sex. ... George H. Hitchings (April 18, 1905 – February 27, 1998) shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Sir James Black and Gertrude Elion for their discoveries of important principles for drug treatment, Hitchings specifically for his work on chemotherapy. ... GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE: GSK NYSE: GSK) is a British based pharmaceutical, biologicals, and healthcare company. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Working alone as well as with Hitchings, Elion developed a multitude of new drugs, using innovative research methods that would later lead to the development of the AIDS drug AZT. Rather than relying on trial-and-error, Elion and Hitchings used the differences in biochemistry between normal human cells and pathogens (disease-causing agents) to design drugs that could kill or inhibit the reproduction of particular pathogens without harming the host cells. Oral medication A medication is a licenced drug taken to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical condition. ... Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ... Zidovudine (INN) or azidothymidine (abbreviated to AZT) is an anti-retroviral drug, the first antiviral treatment to be approved for use against HIV. It is also sold under the names Retrovir and Retrovis, and as an ingredient in Combivir and Trizivir. ... A pathogen or infectious agent is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. ...

Elion's inventions include:

• 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol), the first treatment for leukemia.[1]
• Azathioprine (Imuran), the first immuno-suppressive agent, used for organ transplants.
• Allopurinol (Zyloprim), for gout.
• Pyrimethamine (Daraprim), for malaria.
• Trimethoprim (Septra), for meningitis, septicemia, and bacterial infections of the urinary and respiratory tracts.
• Acyclovir (Zovirax), for viral herpes.

In 1988 Elion received the Nobel Prize in Medicine, together with Hitchings and Sir James Black. Other awards include the National Medal of Science (1991) and the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award (1997). In 1991 she became the first woman to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Mercaptopurine: chemical structure Mercaptopurine (also called 6-MP or by its brand name Purinethol®) is an immunosuppressive drug used to treat leukemia. ... Leukemia (or leukaemia; see spelling differences) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal proliferation of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). ... Azathioprine is a chemotherapy drug, now rarely used for chemotherapy but more for immunosuppression in organ transplantation, autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohns disease. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... An organ transplant is the transplantation of a whole or partial organ from one body to another (or from a donor site on the patients own body), for the purpose of replacing the recipients damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor site. ... Allopurinol is a white, powdery drug used to treat gout. ... Pyrimethamine (Daraprim®) is a medication used for protozoal infections. ... Malaria (from Medieval Italian: mala aria — bad air; formerly called ague or marsh fever) is an infectious disease that is widespread in many tropical and subtropical regions. ... Trimethoprim is a bacteriostatic antibiotic mainly used in the prophylaxis and treatment of urinary tract infections (cystitis). ... Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes (meninges) covering the brain and the spinal cord. ... Sepsis (in Greek Σήψις) is a serious medical condition caused by a severe systemic infection leading to a systemic inflammatory response. ... Infection is also the title of an episode of the television series Babylon 5; see Infection (Babylon 5). ... The urinary system is a system of organs, tubes, muscles, and nerves that work together to create, store, and carry, urine. ... In humans the respiratory tract is the part of the anatomy that has to do with the process of respiration or breathing. ... Aciclovir (INN) (IPA: ) or acyclovir (USAN, former BAN) is a guanine analogue antiviral drug used most commonly for the treatment of herpes simplex virus infection. ... Genera Subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae    Simplexvirus    Varicellovirus    Mardivirus    Iltovirus Subfamily Betaherpesvirinae    Cytomegalovirus    Muromegalovirus    Roseolovirus Subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae    Lymphocryptovirus    Rhadinovirus Unassigned    Ictalurivirus The Herpesviridae are a family of DNA viruses that cause diseases in humans and animals. ... Sir James Whyte Black, OM, FRS (born 14 July 1924) is a Scottish pharmacologist who invented Propranolol, synthesized Cimetidine and received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1988 for these landmark discoveries. ... National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science, also called the Presidential Medal of Science, is an honor given by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social... The Lemelson-MIT Prize, endowed in 1994 by Jerome H. Lemelson, and administered through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is awarded to inventors from the United States for outstanding achievement. ... The National Inventors Hall of Fame is an organization that honors important inventors from the United States. ...

Gertrude Elion died in North Carolina in 1999, aged 81. She was unmarried and had no children.

Quotes

• "I had no specific bent toward science until my grandfather died of stomach cancer. I decided nobody should suffer that much."
• "The idea was to do research, find new avenues to conquer, new mountains to climb."

External links

• Autobiography at the Nobel e-Museum
• Academy of Achievement Profile
• Academy of Achievement Biography
• Academy of Achievement Interview
• Academy of Achievement Photo Gallery
• Biographical Memoirs by Mary Ellen Avery
• Jewish Women's Archive Women of Valor exhibit on Gertrude Elion