How One Scientist Broke Through the ‘Brick Wall’ for Women in Chemistry

As a youth, Gertrude B. Elion had a voracious appetite for learning and enjoyed all school subjects equally. But after her grandfather succumbed to cancer, Elion – born a century ago on Jan. 23, 1918 – began to dream of finding a cure and decided to make science her vocation. This was a choice few women made in her day but it would ultimately benefit countless lives.