Dr. Sara Borrell Ruiz (1917 – 1999). Born 1917 in Madrid, Spain, Dr. Sara Borrell Ruiz made significant contributions to the field of oncology, endocrinology, and biochemistry by establishing the connection between hormones and tumor growth. After being denied acceptance in the University of Madrid for Agricultural Engineering, like her brother, she was encouraged to pursue studies in Pharmacology. She enrolled in the Pharmacology program in 1933, and after a brief interruption due to the Spanish Civil War, she completed her degree in 1940 and went on to receive her PhD in 1944.
Dr. Ruiz worked as an Assistant Professor of Bromatology (1941-1949) at the University of Madrid. In 1946 she conducted postdoctoral research at the Hannah Dairy Research Institute in Scotland, where she studied the effects of steroid hormones found in milk. In 1949, she became a researcher for the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) or Spanish National Research Council and went on to join the Institute of Experimental Endocrinology. She continued training and studied the biochemistry of hormones at the Dunn Nutritional Laboratory in England before joining the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in Massachusetts in 1953.
Dr. Ruiz became a founding member of the Spanish Society for Biochemistry in 1963 and led the Steroids Division at the Gregorio Marañón Institute in 1963. She moved to the Cajal Institute (CSIC) in 1983 and she stayed there until her 1989 retirement. For over 40 years, she performed a detailed analysis of the effects of hormone biochemistry and laid the foundation for understanding the effects they have on cancer. She passed away in 1999.
References:
- https://elpais.com/especiales/2018/mujeres-de-la-ciencia/sara-borrel.html
- https://www.womensactivism.nyc/stories/10304
- https://network.febs.org/posts/sara-borrell-ruiz-1917-1999
Image Source:
http://lacienciaenfemenino.blogspot.com/2014/06/sara-borrell-ruiz.htm
