View source for Gertrude B. Elion

{{Short description|American biochemist and pharmacologist (1918–1999)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox scientist
| birth_name        = Gertrude Belle Elion
| name              = Gertrude Elion
| honorific_suffix  = ForMemRS
| image             = Gertrude Elion.jpg
| caption           = Elion in 1983
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1918|01|23}}
| birth_place       = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|1999|02|21|1918|01|23}}
| death_place       = [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]], U.S
| fields            =
| workplaces        = {{Plainlist|
* [[Burroughs Wellcome]]
* [[Duke University]]}}
| education         = [[Hunter College]]<br/ >[[New York University]]
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students  =
| known_for         =
| awards  = {{Plainlist|
* [[Garvan-Olin Medal]] (1968)
* [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] (1988)
* [[National Medal of Science]] (1991)
* [[Lemelson-MIT Prize]] (1997)
* [[National Inventors Hall of Fame]] (1991)
}}
| website = {{URL|http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1988/elion-bio.html}}
| signature         = Gertrude_Elion_Signature_from_the_Goldman_Collection.png


}}
'''Gertrude "Trudy"'''<ref name="jwa.org">{{Cite web|url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/elion-gertrude-belle|title=Gertrude Elion {{!}} Jewish Women's Archive|website=jwa.org|access-date=2019-04-09}}</ref> '''Belle Elion''' (January 23, 1918 – February 21, 1999) was an American [[biochemist]] and [[pharmacology|pharmacologist]], who shared the 1988 [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] with [[George H. Hitchings]] and [[Sir James Black]] for their use of innovative methods of [[drug design|rational drug design]] for the development of new drugs.<ref>Adams, Patrick, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20200901091346/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/08/gertrude-elion-antivirals-coronavirus-remdesivir/ Meet the woman who gave the world antiviral drugs]'', ''[[National Geographic]]'', August 31, 2020</ref> This new method focused on understanding the target of the drug rather than simply using trial-and-error. Her work led to the creation of the anti-retroviral drug [[Zidovudine|AZT]], which was the first drug widely used against [[AIDS]]. Her well known works also include the development of the first [[immunosuppressive drug]], [[azathioprine]], used to fight rejection in [[organ transplant]]s, and the first successful antiviral drug, [[acyclovir]] (ACV), used in the treatment of [[herpes]] infection.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kresge|first1=Nicole|last2=Simoni|first2=Robert D.|last3=Hill|first3=Robert L.|title=Developing the Purine Nucleoside Analogue Acyclovir: the Work of Gertrude B. Elion|journal=J. Biol. Chem.|date=May 9, 2008|volume=283|issue=19|page=e11|doi=10.1016/S0021-9258(20)59806-2|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Elion was born in [[New York City]] on January 23, 1918,<ref name=formemrs>{{cite journal|last=Avery|first=Mary Ellen|author-link = Mary Ellen Avery| doi = 10.1098/rsbm.2007.0051 | title = Gertrude Belle Elion. 23 January 1918 – 21 February 1999 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 54 | pages = 161–168 | year = 2008| doi-access =  }}</ref> to parents Robert Elion, a [[Lithuania]]n Jewish immigrant and a dentist, and Bertha Cohen, a Polish Jewish immigrant. Her family lost their wealth after the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]].<ref name="Stille">{{cite book|last=Stille|first=Darlene R.|title=Extraordinary Women Scientists|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780516405858|url-access=registration|publisher=Childrens Press|date=1995}}</ref>{{rp|page=64}} Elion was an excellent student who graduated from [[Walton High School (Bronx)|Walton High School]] at the age of 15.<ref name="jwa.org"/> When she was 15, her grandfather died of stomach cancer, and being with him during his last moments inspired Elion to pursue a career in science and medicine in college.<ref>{{cite web|title= Gertrude Elion, M.Sc. Biography and Interview |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/achiever/gertrude-elion/}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title=The Legacy of Great Science: The Work of Nobel Laureate Gertrude Elion Lives On|journal=The Oncologist|volume=11|issue=9|pages=961–965|last=Koeing|first=Rick|doi=10.1634/theoncologist.11-9-961|pmid=17030634|year=2006}}</ref><ref name="Larsen">{{cite web|last1=Larsen|first1=Kristine|title=Gertrude Elion 1918–1999|url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/elion-gertrude-belle|website=Jewish Women's Archive Encyclopedia|access-date=November 1, 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://jwa.org/media/bertha-and-gertrude-elion Bertha and Gertrude Elion | Jewish Women's Archive]. Jwa.org. Retrieved on May 12, 2014.</ref> She was [[Phi Beta Kappa]]<ref name="Colburn">{{cite news |last1=Colburn |first1=Don |title=PATHWAY TO THE PRIZE |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1988/10/25/pathway-to-the-prize/12924d14-d134-455b-aa9f-d7a494ddeb86/ |access-date=25 November 2019 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=October 25, 1988}}</ref> at [[Hunter College]], which she was able to attend for free due to her grades, graduating [[summa cum laude]] in 1937 with a degree in chemistry.<ref name="jwa.org"/><ref name="Elion">{{cite web|last=Elion|first=Gertrude|title=Les Prix Nobel|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1988/elion-bio.html|publisher=Nobel Foundation|access-date=February 21, 2014}}</ref> Unable to find a paying research job after graduating because she was a woman, Elion worked as a secretary and high school teacher before working in an unpaid position at a chemistry lab. Eventually, she saved up enough money to attend New York University and she earned her M.Sc. in 1941, while working as a high school teacher during the day.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Avery|first=Mary Ellen|date=2008-12-12|title=Gertrude Belle Elion. 23 January 1918 — 21 February 1999|journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society|language=en|volume=54|pages=161–168|doi=10.1098/rsbm.2007.0051|issn=0080-4606|doi-access=}}</ref> In an interview after receiving her Nobel Prize, she stated that she believed the sole reason she was able to further her education as a young woman was because she was able to attend Hunter College for free.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1988/elion/biographical/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1988|website=NobelPrize.org|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-23}}</ref> Her fifteen financial aid applications for graduate school were turned down due to gender bias, so she enrolled in a secretarial school, where she attended only six weeks before she found a job.<ref name="Stille"/>{{rp|page=65}}

Unable to obtain a graduate research position, she worked as a food quality supervisor at [[A&P]] supermarkets<ref name="Stille"/>{{rp|page=65}} and for a food lab in New York, testing the acidity of pickles and the color of egg yolk going into mayonnaise. She moved to a position at [[Johnson & Johnson]] that she hoped would be more promising, but ultimately involved testing the strength of sutures.<ref name=":0" /> In 1944, she left to work as an assistant to George H. Hitchings at the Burroughs-Wellcome pharmaceutical company (now [[GlaxoSmithKline]]) in [[Tuckahoe (village), New York|Tuckahoe, New York]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1988/elion-autobio.html|title=Autobiography of Elion at NobelPrize.org|website=Nobel.se|access-date=March 2, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/|title=Biographical Memoirs Home|website=nasonline.org|access-date=March 2, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://jwa.org/womenofvalor/elion|title=Gertrude Elion - Jewish Women's Archive|website=JWA.org|access-date=March 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519221129/https://jwa.org/womenofvalor/elion|archive-date=May 19, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/23/us/gertrude-elion-drug-developer-dies-at-81.html|title=Gertrude Elion, Drug Developer, Dies at 81|first=Lawrence K.|last=Altman|date=February 23, 1999|access-date=March 2, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>Gertrude B. Elion, [http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/elion-gertrude-belle Biography of Gertrude B. Elion], Jewish Women Encyclopedia</ref><ref name="Bouton">{{cite news |last1=Bouton |first1=Katherine |title=The Nobel Pair |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/29/magazine/the-nobel-pair.html |access-date=25 November 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=January 29, 1989}}</ref> Hitchings was using a new way of developing drugs, by intentionally imitating natural compounds instead of through trial and error. Specifically, he was interested in synthesizing antagonists to nucleic acid derivatives, with the goal that these antagonists would integrate into biological pathways.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> He believed that if he could trick cancer cells into accepting artificial compounds for their growth, they could be destroyed without also destroying normal cells.<ref name="Stille"/>{{rp|page=65}}Elion synthesized anti-metabolites of [[purines]], and in 1950, she developed the anti-cancer drugs [[tioguanine]] and [[mercaptopurine]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Stille"/>{{rp|page=66}}

She pursued graduate studies at night school at [[New York University Tandon School of Engineering]] (then Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute), but after several years of long-range commuting, she was informed that she would no longer be able to continue her doctorate on a part-time basis, but would need to give up her job and go to school full-time. Elion made a critical decision in her life, and stayed with her job and give up the pursuit of her doctorate.<ref name="Elion"/> She never obtained a formal [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]],<ref name="CHF">{{cite web|title=George Hitchings and Gertrude Elion|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/george-hitchings-and-gertrude-elion|website=Science History Institute|access-date=20 March 2018|date=June 2016}}</ref> but was later awarded an honorary Ph.D. from New York University Tandon School of Engineering (then Polytechnic University of New York) in 1989 and an honorary [[Doctor of Science|S.D.]] degree from [[Harvard]] University in 1998.

== Personal life ==
Soon after graduating from Hunter College, Elion met Leonard Canter, a statistics student at [[City College of New York]] (CCNY).  They planned to marry, but Canter became ill.  On June 25, 1941, he died from [[bacterial endocarditis]], an infection of his heart valves.<ref name="McDowell">{{cite journal|last1=McDowell|first1=Julie L.|date=2002|title=A lifetime quest for a cure|url=http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/archive/mdd/v05/i10/pdf/1002timeline.pdf|journal=Modern Drug Discovery|issue=October|pages=51–52|access-date=February 14, 2018}}</ref> In her Nobel interview, she stated that this furthered her drive to become a research scientist and pharmacologist.

Elion never married or had children.<ref name="Stille" />{{rp|page=65}} She listed her hobbies as photography, travel, opera and ballet, and listening to music.<ref name="Nobel">{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1988/elion-autobio.html|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1988: Sir James W. Black, Gertrude B. Elion, George H. Hitchings|last=Staff|year=1988|publisher=Nobelprize.org|access-date=October 20, 2012}}</ref> After Burroughs Wellcome moved to [[Research Triangle Park]] in North Carolina, Elion moved to nearby [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina|Chapel Hill]]. She retired in 1983 from Burroughs Wellcome to spend more time traveling and attending the opera. She continued to make important scientific contributions after her retirement.<ref name=":0" /> One of her passions during this time was encouraging other women to pursue careers in science.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|title=Gertrude Belle Elion (1918-1999)|journal=Science|volume=284|issue=5419|pages=1480|last=Colvin|first=Michael|date=May 28, 1999|doi=10.1126/science.284.5419.1480|pmid=10383327|s2cid=45055062}}</ref>

Elion died in North Carolina in 1999, aged 81.<ref name="Stille" />{{rp|page=76}}

== Career and research ==
While Elion had many jobs to support herself and put herself through school, Elion had also worked for the [[National Cancer Institute]], [[American Association for Cancer Research]], and [[World Health Organization]], among other organizations. From 1967 to 1983, she was the head of the department of experimental therapy for [[GlaxoSmithKline|Burroughs Wellcome]]. She officially retired from Burroughs and Wellcome in 1983.

She was affiliated with [[Duke University]] as adjunct professor of pharmacology and of experimental medicine from 1971 to 1983 and research professor from 1983 to 1999.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wayne|first1=Tiffany K.|title=American Women of Science Since 1900: Essays A–H. Vol. 1|date=October 11, 2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, CA|isbn=978-1598841589|page=370}}</ref> During her time at Duke, she focused on mentoring medical and graduate students. She published more than 25 papers with the students she mentored at Duke.<ref name=":2" />

Even after her retirement from Burroughs Wellcome, Gertrude continued almost full-time work at the lab. She played a significant role in the development of AZT, one of the first drugs used to treat HIV and AIDS.<ref name=":1" /> She also was crucial in the development of nelarabine, which she worked on until her death in 1999.<ref name=":0" />

Rather than relying on trial and error, Elion and Hitchings discovered new drugs using rational drug design, which used the differences in biochemistry and metabolism between normal human cells and [[pathogen]]s (disease-causing agents such as cancer cells, protozoa, bacteria, and viruses) to design drugs that could kill or inhibit the reproduction of particular pathogens without harming human cells. The drugs they developed are used to treat a variety of maladies, such as leukemia, malaria, lupus, hepatitis, arthritis, gout,<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=https://jwa.org/womenofvalor/elion|title=Gertrude Elion {{!}} Jewish Women's Archive|website=jwa.org|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519221129/https://jwa.org/womenofvalor/elion|archive-date=May 19, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> organ transplant rejection ([[azathioprine]]), as well as herpes ([[acyclovir]], which was the first selective and effective drug of its kind).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wasserman|first1=Elga R.|title=The door in the dream : conversations with eminent women in science|date=2000|publisher=Joseph Henry Press|isbn=978-0-309-06568-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/doorindream00elga/page/47 47]|url=https://archive.org/details/doorindream00elga/page/47}}</ref> Most of Elion's early work came from the use and development of [[purine]] derivatives.
Elion's research contributed to the development of:
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* [[Mercaptopurine]] (Purinethol), the first treatment for [[leukemia]], also used in organ transplantation.<ref name="CHF"/><ref name="ChemicalEngNews">{{cite web|last=Marx|first=Vivien|title=6-Mercaptopurine|publisher=[[Chemical & Engineering News]]|year=2005|url=http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/83/8325/83256-mercaptopurine.html|access-date=October 20, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Azathioprine]] (Imuran), the first [[immunosuppressive drug|immuno-suppressive agent]], used for [[organ transplant]]s.<ref name="CHF"/>
* [[Allopurinol]] (Zyloprim), for [[gout]].<ref name="CHF"/>
* [[Pyrimethamine]] (Daraprim), for [[malaria]].<ref name="CHF"/>
* [[Trimethoprim]] (Proloprim, Monoprim, others),<ref name="CHF"/> for [[meningitis]], [[sepsis]], and [[bacterial infection]]s of the [[urinary tract|urinary]] and [[respiratory tract]]s.
* [[Aciclovir|Acyclovir]] (Zovirax), for viral [[herpes]].<ref name="CHF"/>
* [[Nelarabine]] for cancer treatment.<ref name="Koenig">{{cite journal|last1=Koenig|first1=R.|title=The Legacy of Great Science: The Work of Nobel Laureate Gertrude Elion Lives On|journal=The Oncologist|date=1 October 2006|volume=11|issue=9|pages=961–965|doi=10.1634/theoncologist.11-9-961|pmid=17030634}}</ref>
{{div col end}}

== Selected works by Gertrude B. Elion ==

* {{cite journal | year = 1951 | title = Antagonists of Nucleic Acid Derivatives. VI. Purines | url = http://www.jbc.org/content/192/2/505.full.pdf | journal = Journal of Biological Chemistry | volume = 192 | issue = 2| pages = 505–518 | pmid = 14907641| author1 = Elion GB| author2 = Hitchins GH| author3 = Vanderwerff H| doi = 10.1016/S0021-9258(19)77771-0 | doi-access = free }}
* “Interaction of Anticancer Drugs with Enzymes.” In ''Pharmacological Basis of Cancer Chemotherapy'' (1975).
* {{cite journal | year = 1989 | title = The Purine Path to Chemotherapy | url = http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=2649979 | journal = Science | volume = 244 | issue = 4900| pages = 41–47 | doi = 10.1126/science.2649979  | last1 = Elion | first1 = G.| pmid = 2649979 | bibcode = 1989Sci...244...41E | url-access = subscription }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Elion| first1 =  G. B.| last2 = Furman| first2 = P. A.| last3 = Fyfe| first3 = J. A.| last4 = Miranda| first4 = P. d.| last5 = Beauchamp| first5 = L.| last6 = Schaeffer| first6 = H. J.| year = 1977 | title = Selectivity of Action of an Antiherpetic Agent, 9-(2-hydroxyethoxymethyl) guanine | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 74 | issue = 12| pages = 5716–5720 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5716 | pmid = 202961| pmc = 431864| bibcode = 1977PNAS...74.5716E| doi-access = free }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Elion| first1 =  Gertrude B.| last2 = Hitchings| first2 = George H.| year = 1955 | title = The Synthesis of 6-Thioguanine | journal = Journal of the American Chemical Society | volume = 77 | issue = 6| page = 1676 | doi = 10.1021/ja01611a082 | bibcode = 1955JAChS..77.1676E}}

==Awards and honors==
In 1988 Elion received the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]], together with Hitchings and Sir James Black for discoveries of "important new principles of drug treatment".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wasserman|first1=Elga R.|title=The door in the dream : conversations with eminent women in science|publisher=Joseph Henry Press|isbn=978-0-309-06568-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/doorindream00elga/page/46 46]|year=2000|url=https://archive.org/details/doorindream00elga/page/46}}</ref> Elion was the fifth woman Nobel laureate in Medicine and the ninth in science in general, and one of only a handful of laureates without a doctoral degree.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> She was the only woman honored with a Nobel Prize that year. She was elected a member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]] in 1990,<ref name=NAS>{{cite web|title=Gertrude B. Elion|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/1653.html|website=National Academy of Sciences|access-date=July 26, 2014}}</ref> 
a member of the [[Institute of Medicine]] in 1991<ref name=IOM>{{cite web|title=Directory: IOM Member – Gertrude B. Elion, M.S. |url=http://www.iom.edu/Global/Directory/Detail.aspx?id=0000001653 |website=Institute of Medicine |access-date=July 26, 2014 }}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] also in 1991.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter E|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterE.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=July 25, 2014}}</ref>

Her awards include the [[Garvan-Olin Medal]] (1968),<ref>{{cite web|title=Francis P. Garvan–John M. Olin Medal|url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/funding-and-awards/awards/national/bytopic/francis-p-garvan-john-m-olin-medal.html|website=American Chemical Society|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref>  the Sloan-Kettering Institute Judd Award (1983),<ref name="jwa.org"/> the American Chemical Society Distinguished Chemist Award (1985),<ref name="jwa.org"/> the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]]'s Golden Plate Award (1989),<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=  https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}</ref> the American Association for Cancer Research Cain Award (1985),<ref name="jwa.org"/> the American Cancer Society Medal of Honor (1990),<ref name="jwa.org"/> the [[National Medal of Science]] (1991),<ref name="NSF">{{cite web|last=Staff|title=The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details: Gertrude B. Elion|publisher=[[National Science Foundation]]|url=https://www.nsf.gov/od/nms/recip_details.cfm?recip_id=118|access-date=October 20, 2012}}</ref> and the [[Lemelson-MIT Prize|Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award]] (1997).<ref>{{cite web|title=$100,000 Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award Winners|url=https://lemelson.mit.edu/sites/default/files/content/documents/events/lemelson-mit-lifetime_achievement-1.pdf|website=MIT Technology Review Custom + Lemelson-MIT Program|access-date=14 February 2018|archive-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329111211/https://lemelson.mit.edu/sites/default/files/content/documents/events/lemelson-mit-lifetime_achievement-1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1991 Elion became the first woman to be inducted into the [[National Inventors Hall of Fame]].<ref name="InventNow">{{cite web|last=Staff |title=Invent Now: Hall of Fame: Gertrude Belle Elion |publisher=[[National Inventors Hall of Fame]] |url=http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/51.html |access-date=October 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901222110/http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/51.html |archive-date=September 1, 2012 }}</ref> She was inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]] also in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/gertrude-belle-elion/|title=Elion, Gertrude Belle|website=National Women's Hall of Fame|access-date=March 2, 2019}}</ref> In 1992, she was elected to the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wasserman|first1=Elga R.|title=The door in the dream : conversations with eminent women in science|date=2000|publisher=Joseph Henry Press|isbn=978-0-309-06568-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/doorindream00elga/page/49 49]|url=https://archive.org/details/doorindream00elga/page/49}}</ref> She was elected a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1995|Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1995]].<ref name=formemrs/>

==See also==
* [[Timeline of women in science]]
* [[List of Jewish Nobel laureates]]

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last1=MacBain|first1=Jenny|title=Gertrude Elion : Nobel prize winner in physiology and medicine|date=2004|publisher=Rosen Pub. Group|isbn=9780823938766|edition=1st|oclc=50285519}}
*Nobel Prize Women in Science by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne
*Mary Ellen Avery [http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/elion-gertrude.pdf Gertrude Elion] National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs, VOLUME 78, 2000 BY NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C 
*Royal Society biographical memoir, Volume 54 in 2008.
*{{cite book |year=2024 |author1-last=Busch-Vishniac |author1-first=Ilene |author2-last=Busch |author2-first=Lauren |author3-last=Tietjen |author3-first=Jill |title=Women in the National Inventors Hall of Fame: The First 50 Years |publisher=Springer Nature |pages= |chapter=Chapter 18. Gertrude Elion |isbn=9783031755255}}

==External links==
*{{Nobelprize}}
{{Commons category|Gertrude Elion}}
{{Wikiquote}}

{{Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureates 1976-2000}}
{{1988 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Winners of the National Medal of Science|chemistry}}
{{National Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{FRS 1995}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elion, Gertrude}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine]]
[[Category:Women Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:American pharmacologists]]
[[Category:American women pharmacologists]]
[[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:20th-century American women inventors]]
[[Category:Jewish American scientists]]
[[Category:Jewish women scientists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine]]
[[Category:National Medal of Science laureates]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Garvan–Olin Medal]]
[[Category:Foreign members of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Duke University faculty]]
[[Category:Lemelson–MIT Prize]]
[[Category:Hunter College alumni]]
[[Category:Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni]]
[[Category:Jewish chemists]]
[[Category:20th-century American chemists]]
[[Category:20th-century American inventors]]
[[Category:20th-century American women scientists]]
[[Category:Scientists from the Bronx]]
[[Category:Jewish Nobel laureates]]