Salvaging limbs and lives: A chemist to the rescue
This article profiles Alice Augusta Ball, a pioneering African American chemist who developed an effective treatment for leprosy in the early 20th century. Despite her early death, her research on chaulmoogra oil significantly advanced medical care for the disease.
Why it matters
Highlighting the contributions of marginalized scientists provides necessary historical context and recognition for breakthroughs that shaped modern medicine.
Alice Augusta Ball lived a very short life. In 24 years, she had remarkable achievements, and was predictably forgotten for a while, until the world was shaken up to her brilliance. Her work on distilling chaulmoogra oil for use as effective treatment for leprosy brought hope to a number of patients globally.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in