Rosalyn Sussman Yalow

@Medical Physicist, Life Achievements and Facts ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was an American biochemist and a medical physicist who received Nobel Prize in 1977 Cancer Celebrities American New York University University Of Illinois Scientists Biochemists Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was an American biochemist and a medical physicist who received Nobel Prize in 1977 for developing ‘radioimmunoassay’ or RIA technique. She was the only woman scientist until then to receive this prize in Physiology or Medicine. The technique was used to measure various minute quantities of biological substances in the human blood and other aqueous fluids with the help of radioactive isotopes. The technique involves the use of two reagents of which the radioactive reagent bonds with the target substance while the antibody reagent reacts chemically with the target substance. Initially this technique was used to measure the level of insulin in the blood but was later used to measure hundreds of other substances such as vitamins, hormones, enzymes and also drugs in the blood stream which could be detected easily earlier. Yalow was helped by another physicist, Solomon A. Berson, in developing the RIA technique. She shared the prize money with two other scientists, Andrew Schally and Roger Guilleman as Solomon Berson was no longer alive when the announcement was made. She was also the first woman to achieve many more scientific feats during her career such as finding the underlying mechanism which caused type-II diabetes. Her radioimmunoassay technique is also used for testing the presence of the hepatitis virus in patients.

Personal Details

Birthday: July 19, 1921 Died on: May 30, 2011 Nationality: American Famous: Medical Physicist, New York University, University Of Illinois, Scientists, Biochemists Spouses: Aaron Yalow Childrens: Benjamin, Elanna Universities: New York University,University Of Illinois Hunter College University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Information Detail Birthday July 19, 1921 Died on May 30, 2011 Nationality American Famous Medical Physicist, New York University, University Of Illinois, Scientists, Biochemists Spouses Aaron Yalow Childrens Benjamin, Elanna Universities New York University,University Of Illinois Hunter College University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Notable Alumnis New York University University Of Illinois Discoveries / Inventions Radioimmunoassay (RIA) Birth Place New York City, New York, U.S. Gender Female Father Simon Sussman Mother Clara Zipper Sun Sign Cancer Born in New York City, New York, U.S. Famous as Medical Physicist Died at Age 89

New York City, New York, U.S.

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow born at Unsplash Birth Place

She married Aaron Yalow in 1943 and had two children, a son named Benjamin and a daughter named Elanna. Unsplash Personal Life

Rosalyn S. Yalow died in New York, USA, on May 30, 2011. Unsplash Personal Life

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was born in The Bronx, New York City, USA, on July 19, 1921. Her father, Simon Sussman, was son of a Russian immigrant, and her mother, Clara Zipper was a German immigrant. She had an elder brother named Alexander. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Not having any formal education, both her parents instilled the urge to read and write in their children by going to the public library as they did not have enough books. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Yalow joined the ‘Walton High School’ in the Bronx and became interested in science subjects like mathematics and chemistry. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

After graduation from the high school she enrolled at Hunter College which conducted courses especially for women. This college became a part of the ‘City University of New York’ later. Here she took up nuclear physics as her major subject. She persisted with her studies even though her parents wanted her to be a school teacher. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

She graduated from Hunter College in January 1941 with honors and joined a business school where she did not stay for long. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Rosalyn Yalow returned to New York in January 1945 without her husband Aaron Yalow who was still busy completing his thesis at the ‘University of Illinois’ and could join her only in September 1945. Unsplash Career

She joined the ‘Federal Telecommunications Laboratory’ as the only woman assistant engineer but had to return to ‘Hunter College’ when the laboratory closed down in 1946. Unsplash Career

She started teaching physics at Hunter College from 1946 to 1950 to not only women but also veterans returning from the war. Unsplash Career

In December 1947 she was appointed as a part-time consultant of nuclear physics to the ‘Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital’. She served here as an assistant chief and physicist of the department dealing with radioisotopes. She retained her teaching post at Hunter College till the spring of 1950. Unsplash Career

At Hunter College she started her research on the effects of radioisotopes on different diseases with the help of another American physicist named Solomon A. Berson. Unsplash Career

Rosalyn S. Yalow was the first female scientist to be awarded the ‘Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award’ in 1976. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

She received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

She received the ‘National Medal of Science in 1988. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

Information	Detail
Birthday	July 19, 1921
Died on	May 30, 2011
Nationality	American
Famous	Medical Physicist, New York University, University Of Illinois, Scientists, Biochemists
Spouses	Aaron Yalow
Childrens	Benjamin, Elanna
Universities	New York University,University Of Illinois Hunter College University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Notable Alumnis	New York University University Of Illinois
Discoveries / Inventions	Radioimmunoassay (RIA)
Birth Place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Gender	Female
Father	Simon Sussman
Mother	Clara Zipper
Sun Sign	Cancer
Born in	New York City, New York, U.S.
Famous as	Medical Physicist
Died at Age	89

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow

American

Jul 19, 1921

Biography

Personal Details

New York City, New York, U.S.