Katherine Sanford

Katherine Sanford
Born (1915-07-19)July 19, 1915
Chicago, Illinois
Died September 12, 2005(2005-09-12) (aged 90)
Nationality American
Fields Cell biology
Institutions National Cancer Institute
Alma mater
Thesis The effect of temperature on the expression of intersexuality in Daphnia longispina (1942)
Doctoral advisor Arthur M. Banta
Spouse Charles F. R. Mifflin

Katherine Koontz Sanford (June 19, 1915 – September 12, 2005), also known as Katherine Sanford Mifflin, was an American biologist and cancer researcher who worked at the National Cancer Institute nearly 50 years, serving as head of Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology. In the 1940s she became the first person to successfully clone a mammalian cell in vitro, which allowed for more efficient means of creating pure strains of cells for study.[1][2] She also developed the first laboratory test to distinguish people with Alzheimer's disease and people predisposed to cancer.[3]

Biography

Sanford was born June 19, 1915, in Chicago, Illinois, to parents Alta Rache and William James Koontz. She was educated at North Shore Country Day School,[4] then earned a bachelor of arts at Wellesley College in 1937 and a master's and doctorate at Brown University under zoologist Arthur M. Banta in 1942. She spent two years teaching at Western College for Women in Ohio and Allegheny College in Pennsylvania before joining Johns Hopkins School of Nursing as assistant director of its science program. She joined the National Cancer Institute cancer laboratory in 1947, working in the tissue culture section, and in 1974 became head of the cell physiology and oncogenesis section. In the 1940s, working in the lab of Wilton R. Earle, Sanford developed the first clone from an isolated cancer cell.[5][6]

Sanford was a founding member of the American Association for Cancer Research. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for In Vitro Biology in 1977,[7] and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the Catholic University of America in 1988.[8]

Sanford married Charles F. R. Mifflin in 1971. Sanford officially retired from the NIH in 1995, but remained another year to finish research.[3] She died September 12, 2005, aged 90.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Kass-Simon, Gabriele (1993). Women of Science: Righting the Record. Indiana University Press. p. 285. ISBN 0-253-20813-0.
  2. 1 2 Oakes, Elizabeth H. (2007). "Sanford, Katherine Koontz". Encyclopedia of World Scientists, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  3. 1 2 Mahaney, Francis X., Jr. (January 28, 1997). "NCI Senior Scientist Sanford Retires". The NIH Record 50 (2).
  4. ↑ Darrow, John S. "Dr. Katherine Sanford Mifflin '33 (1990)". North Shore Country Day School. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Rauscher, Frank J., Jr.; Shimkin, Michael B. (1984). "Viral Oncology". In Stetten, DeWitt, Jr. NIH: An Account of Research in Its Laboratories and Clinics. Academic Press, Inc. p. 355. ISBN 978-1-4832-7755-4.
  6. ↑ "Selected Research Advances of NIH". Office of NIH History. Office of NIH History, National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Awards". sivb.org. The Society for In Vitro Biology. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Local students and teachers receive honors". The Wellesley Townsman. July 14, 1988. p. 36.

External links

Dr. Katherine Sanford Mifflin at Find a Grave


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