For women in the United States the battle for equality has been filled with struggle, hard work, determination and its still being fought on a daily basis. Everyday women play extremely important roles in fields of science, economics, manufacturing, politics, law, social activism, the military and often times their accolades go unheard of. While mainstream media seems to glorify female celebrities, there are a number of amazing women, other than celebrities, in the United States that we want to introduce you to. Here are some great American women you’ve probably never heard of that affect our society.
Carol Greider & Elizabeth Blackburn
Carol Greider and Elizabeth Blackburn won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for their work in molecular biology. They specifically discovered how “the chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase” (nobelprize.org). This ground breaking finding has advanced research in fields of cancer, aging, anemia, heart disease, and diabetes. Winning a Nobel Prize didn’t stop these women from still contributing to their fields! Carol Greider serves as a professor and Director of Molecular Biology & Genetics at Johns Hopkins Institute of Basic Biomedical Sciences while Elizabeth Blackburn serves on the Science Advisory Board of the Genetics Policy Institute.
Carol Greider Photo by National Institutes of Health
Eliabeth Blackburn Photo by Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com