Dr. Rebeca Gerschman (June 19, 1903 – April 4, 1986). Born in 1903, in Carlos Casares, Argentina Dr. Rebeca Gerschman became the first to suggest that the toxicity of oxygen-free radicals led to cell aging and death. After completing her undergraduate studies in Pharmacy and Biochemistry, she continued at the University of Buenos Aires and received her PhD (1937) under the tutelage of Dr. Bernardo Houssay. She co-developed the Gerschman-Marenzi Method for studying the blood potassium levels. She continued this work in the Department of Physiology at the University of Rochester, where she would publish her findings on toxic oxygen-free radicals in 1954. However, it would not become accepted until 1969.
She returned to the University of Buenos Aires in 1959 as a Professor of Physiology and the newly established School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry. She remained there until her retirement in 1980, and dedicated her time to fighting for women’s rights in the scientific field. She later earned a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology, and unfortunately she passed away due to aplastic anemia in 1986 before it would have been awarded.
References:
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0891584996897103?via%3Dihub
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0891584996001086?via%3Dihub
- https://neglectedscience.com/rebeca-gerschman/
- https://rmsc.org/changemakers/changemaker/rebeca-gerschman/
- https://interfaces.che.wisc.edu/rebeca-gerschman/
- https://www.deepbuenosaires.com.ar/en/rebecagerschman/
