Janet Rowley, MD, an American geneticist, was the first scientist to prove that cancer is a genetic disease. Rowley received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago at the age of 19. She was accepted to the university’s medical school, but had to wait nine months to enroll because the school had already reached its quota of women: three in a class of 65. Rowley earned her medical degree in 1951. She became interested in researching cancer and chromosomes, and returned to the University of Chicago as a research associate. In the early 1970s she identified a process of chromosomal translocation, or the exchange of genetic material between chromosomes, in patients with leukemia. Her discoveries changed the way cancer was understood, and led to development of drugs directed at the cancer-specific genetic abnormalities. Her awards for this discovery include the prestigious Lasker Award, the National Medal of Science and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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