Marie M. Daly: The Body In Digest Food
Marie M. Daly was born on April 16, 1921, in Queens, New York. She was raised in a family that valued education very highly and believed in the power of it. She attended Hunter College High School, an all-girls institution in New York City. After graduation from high school, Daly attended Queens College in Flushing, New York, which was close to home in order to save money. Daly graduated with honors in 1942 and could go to graduate school for financial reasons, so she was a lab assistant at her old college and raised the funds to go to graduate school. Daly finished her master's degree and then, in 1944, enrolled at Columbia University as a doctoral student. At school, Daly studied how the body's chemicals help digest food. She finished her
doctorate, making history as the first female African American to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States in 1947.
In 1948 Daly received a grant from the American Cancer Society. This started a seven-year research program at the Rockefeller Institute of Medicine, which Daly researched the body's effects on proteins while there. In 1955, Daly went back to Columbia, and worked with Dr. Quentin B. Deming on what caused heart attacks. Their work, which was groundbreaking, was later moved to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York. This work opened up a new understanding of how foods and diet can affect people's health. Daly’s research also focused on protein structure and human metabolism. In addition to her research, Daly taught biochemistry classes at Einstein. In 1988 she started a scholarship, in honor of her father, for minority students to study science at Queens College.
Daly retired from Albert Einstein College in 1986. Some of her achievements included induction into Phi Beta Kappa and being tapped as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of course the first female African American to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry. All of these accomplishments make Marie M. Daly one of the most successful and influential people in Black History.
doctorate, making history as the first female African American to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States in 1947.
In 1948 Daly received a grant from the American Cancer Society. This started a seven-year research program at the Rockefeller Institute of Medicine, which Daly researched the body's effects on proteins while there. In 1955, Daly went back to Columbia, and worked with Dr. Quentin B. Deming on what caused heart attacks. Their work, which was groundbreaking, was later moved to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York. This work opened up a new understanding of how foods and diet can affect people's health. Daly’s research also focused on protein structure and human metabolism. In addition to her research, Daly taught biochemistry classes at Einstein. In 1988 she started a scholarship, in honor of her father, for minority students to study science at Queens College.
Daly retired from Albert Einstein College in 1986. Some of her achievements included induction into Phi Beta Kappa and being tapped as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of course the first female African American to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry. All of these accomplishments make Marie M. Daly one of the most successful and influential people in Black History.