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This biography of Rosalyn Yalow chronicles more than the life and scientific achievements of a dedicated research scientist. The tenacity Yalow applied to achieving her life's goals--a good family and a Nobel Prize-winning scientific career (medicine-physiology, 1977)--reveals what is both wonderful and wrong with United States research science and medicine. Issues like gender bias, informed consent for patients in clinical trials, fear of radioactivity, and the role of research, education, and patient care in hospitals, where the bottom line looms large, are all discussed in the context of this remarkable woman's life.

As a Jewish woman, Rosalyn Sussman was unique among her classmates when she began graduate school in physics at the University of Illinois in 1941.Three and a half years later, more quickly than anyone else in her program, she completed her Ph.D. By then, she had married a classmate, Aaron Yalow, who would be her husband for the next 50 years. Through memoir and interviews with Yalow's professional and biological families, it is clear that nothing was going to stop her from achieving her goals, and that this aggressive drive affected those close to her.

Without ever submitting a research grant proposal, Yalow and Solomon Berson, her second husband and research partner, were able to develop the radioimmunoassay (RIA), still a key component in biochemical research.Yalow and Berson freely trained scientists from all over the world in RIA and kept no secrets from the scientific community. Such openness stands in stark contrast to today's secretive, competitive, grant-driven culture of academic research. Strauss's biography pays tribute to a remarkable scientist and offers a unique snapshot of science in the latter half of the 20th century.--Irwin Scot Hirsh Book Description
An inspirational story of the Nobel Prize winner who broke the gender barrier in science

The biography of Rosalyn Yalow, as told by her longtime friend and colleague Eugene Straus, isthe story of a woman who prevailed against class and gender prejudice to reach the pinnacle of the science world. Yalow's story is related against the backdrop of her later years, when, after having won the Nobel Prize in medicine for inventing a revolutionary test for certain kinds of hormones, she was suddenly felled by a stroke and brought to a hospital where, unrecognized, she was "dumped" as a charity case onto another hospital. Straus's account of Yalow's slow but ultimate triumph over crippling illness is of a piece with that of the dazzlingly talented and tenacious young woman who, despite the barriers placed before her by a male-dominated medical establishment, never compromised her principles of hard work and scientific integrity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A must-read for anyone who thinks about society and culture.
As someone who is concerned with howgender influences our movement within society and our personal development, I found this book fascinating.To say nothing of the fact that this is one of very few books about a woman of intellect and emotional control of daunting proportions.As a woman physician, this book provided insight into my own development and future path.But as a woman, I hope men read this book.The insights go far beyond medicine, or careers, to the center of the gender issues that face us all.

A great book about a pioneering woman.
Rosalyn Yalow, from a poor uneducated family in the Bronx, and educated in the New York City public school system, became the first American educated woman to make it to the top in science or medicine.A nuclear physicist who never took a course in biology, she developed a method to identify and measure vanishingly small amounts of almost any substance in body fluids and tissues.As a result her work revolutionized virtually every aspect of medicine and biomedical science.What did it take to succeed in universities, hospitals, and scientific establishments that were completely dominated by men and male culture?What price did she pay?What barriers still stand in the way of women in these fields?This book speaks to these questions and more.It provides a searching and sensitive portrait of an overpowering woman who stood alone, fought for her place,and guided other women to follow their dreams and abilities.Yet the book is about human relationships; motherhood, marriage, partnership, and especially Yalow's relationship with herself.It is also about the ongoing struggle to achieve equal opportunity for all people.It reads like a novel, with a poetic feel for words and structure. Even the science is seamless and available to readers with little or no scientific background.Here is a great book about a great woman who is not an actress, not a heiress, not a figure in a political scandal, but a towering intellectual figure who changed the world.I couldn't put it down.Read it, then give it to your kids.Especially the young adult boys and girls. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 3054 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description

Chemistry: Foundations and Application is an accessible four-volume set that covers chemistrys laws, processes, applications and sub-disciplines, reviews the history of the field, including modern research and practical applications, and includes biographies of scientists past and present. Varied topics that examine and explain chemistry's many branches, including inorganic, industrial, atmospheric and computational chemistry, and biotechnology allow students and general-interest readers alike to explore the myriad ways in which chemistry plays an important role in daily life.

Book Description
Discusses radiation and its impact on society, and provides factual, scientifically based information on the interrelationship of society and radiation. Reviews the health effects of radiation through examinations of irradiated food, iodine-131 therapy, radon studies, and other related topics. Looks at the effects of exposure to large doses of radiation, including the cancer risks among atomic bomb survivors, the genetic effects of human exposure to ionizing radiation, and a health assessment of the Chernobyl accident. Includes an overview chapter by Rosalyn S. Yalow, recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in medicine for her work in developing radioimmunoassay techniques. ... Read more