logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
11m 47s

From Our Inbox: A Microbe Hunter in Oreg...

LOST WOMEN OF SCIENCE
About this episode

Harriet Jane Lawrence was one of the first female pathologists in the U.S. In the early 1900s she worked in Portland, Oregon, where she hunted microbes and developed vaccines and serum therapies with the help of 200 guinea pigs that she kept in her garage. Her work on a vaccine during the 1918 influenza pandemic earned her presidential recognition and has had a lasting impact on medicine.

Up next
Yesterday
Best Of: Finding Dora Richardson, The Forgotten Developer of Tamoxifen, a Lifesaving Breast Cancer Therapy - Episode One
In the early 1960s, Dr. Dora Richardson synthesized a chemical compound that became one of the most important drugs to treat breast cancer: tamoxifen. Although her name is on the original patent, her contributions have been lost to history.In the first episode of this two-part po ... Show More
41m 55s
Yesterday
Encontrando a Dora Richardson – Episodio 1
A principios de la década de los sesenta, la Dra. Dora Richardson sintetizó un compuesto químico que se convirtió en uno de los medicamentos más importantes para tratar el cáncer de mama: el tamoxifeno. Aunque su nombre aparece en la patente original, sus contribuciones fueron ol ... Show More
31m 58s
Sep 25
Opening Doors to Computer Science
In high school, Carla Brodley was almost shut out of computer science when boys took over all the computers. But she rediscovered her love for the field in college and has made it her mission to open doors for others. At Northeastern University, she founded the Center for Inclusi ... Show More
34m 19s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2025
How to Fight Bird Flu If It Becomes the Next Human Pandemic (Part 3)
Creating a bird flu vaccine requires several layers of bioprotective clothing and typically a whole lot of eggs. H5N1 avian influenza infections have gone from flocks of chickens to herds of cattle and humans. Scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute are taking their ... Show More
32m 51s
Jun 2025
How Bird Flu Went from an Isolated Avian Illness to a Human Pandemic Threat (Part 1)
Bird flu outbreaks in poultry and cattle have caused concern for public health officials. There have been few reported cases of human transmission, but the growing risks of H5N1 avian influenza have virologists on alert. Researchers at the St. Jude Center of Excellence for Influe ... Show More
31m 17s
Mar 2025
How did the Covid-19 pandemic change medicine?
Five years on from the first Covid lockdown in the UK, we consider how the pandemic changed medicine. We're joined by Dr Emma Wall, academic consultant in Infectious Diseases at University College London Hospital who also runs a long covid clinic, Professor Katrina Pollock, Assoc ... Show More
27m 54s
Aug 4
The Life Scientific: Anthony Fauci
Welcome to a world where medicine meets politics: a space that brings together scientific research, government wrangling, public push-back and healthcare conspiracies…Dr Anthony Fauci was the Director of America’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly f ... Show More
26m 29s
Feb 2009
TWiV #22 - Viral bioinformatics
In episode 22 of This Week in Virology, host Vincent Racaniello and guest host Chris Upton, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Victoria in Vancouver, Canada, converse about hepatitis B in India, AIDS gene therapy with a ribozyme, a ... Show More
59m 2s
Jun 2025
Megalodon Diets, Teeth Sensitivity and a Bunch of Vaccine News
The measles outbreak in West Texas is slowing. Health officials think an increase in vaccination rates contributed to the slowdown, but Texas lawmakers have pushed a new bill to make it even quicker and easier for parents to exempt their children from vaccines. The Centers for Di ... Show More
8 m
Jan 2025
The rising threat of bird flu
More species infected than ever, an uptick in human cases, and some concerning biological modifications. How close are we to a bird flu pandemic? We digest the last year of bird flu changes with virologist Tom Peacock and public health journalist Melody Schreiber. Also this week, ... Show More
28m 8s
Sep 22
Vaccine Shakeups, Brain Injury Warnings and Boozy Chimps
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee has been reshaped, with new recommendations on the horizon. Meanwhile studies reveal subtle brain changes in contact sports players and highlight ongoing risks of repetitive head injuries. Climate change ... Show More
10m 49s
Sep 22
Vaccine Shakeups, Brain Injury Warnings and Boozy Chimps
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee has been reshaped, with new recommendations on the horizon. Meanwhile studies reveal subtle brain changes in contact sports players and highlight ongoing risks of repetitive head injuries. Climate change ... Show More
10m 49s