Gertrude B. Elion

thumbnail|Elion in 1983 Gertrude Belle Elion (January 23, 1918 – February 21, 1999) was an American biochemist and pharmacologist, who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with George H. Hitchings and Sir James Black. Working alone as well as with Hitchings and Black, Elion developed a multitude of new drugs, using innovative research methods that would later lead to the development of the AIDS drug AZT. She developed the first immunosuppressive drug, azathioprine, used for organ transplants. Quotes Don’t be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don’t let others discourage you or tell you that you can’t do it. In my day I was told women didn’t go into chemistry. I saw no reason why we couldn’t. Gertrude Elion People ask me often (was) the Nobel Prize the thing you were aiming for all your life? And I say that would be crazy. Nobody would aim for a Nobel Prize because, if you didn’t get it, your whole life would be wasted. What we were aiming at was getting people well, and the satisfaction of that is much greater than any prize you can get. Gertrude Elion I had no specific bent toward science until my grandfather died of stomach cancer. I decided that nobody should suffer that much. Gertrude B. Elion, Quotes at goodreads.com External links Category:1918 births Category:1999 deaths Category:Biochemists Category:Nobel laureates from the United States Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Category:Scientists from New York City Category:National Medal of Science laureates Category:Women scientists from the United States Category:Women born in the 1910s Category:Duke University faculty Category:New York University alumni Category:Women Nobel laureates