13 Sarah Elizabeth Stewart

Scientists Name: Sarah Elizabeth Stewart

Time period: (1905–1976)

Subject: Biology

Biography: Sarah Elizabeth Stewart was born to an American father and a Mexican mother in Jalisco, Mexico she graduated with an MS in Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts and worked for NIH throughout World War completing a Ph.D. in 1939 from the University of Chicago. As the NIH and NCI (National Cancer Institute). refuse to let her study the link between viruses and animal cancer because of “lack of qualifications” where she become a bacteriology instructor at Georgetown where she eventually earned her MD and became the first woman to graduate from Georgetown with an MD at the age of 39. In 1965, President Johnson awarded her the Federal Women’s award and today the Sarah Stewart scholarship at Georgetown recognizes Dr. Stewart’s achievements.

Summary of their contributions: Dr. Stewart’s tireless dedication to the field where she faced discrimination at every turn as a woman and a doctor meant she had to prove herself above and beyond her peers. Dr. Stewart eventually discovered the SE polyomavirus with Dr. Bernice Eddy (another woman powerhouse in the field of STEM) and then went on to be a founder in the field of viral oncology. She provided definitive proof that viruses can be the cause of cancer in mammalian cells. She paved the way for the understanding of cancer research.

Integration with the BC Secondary Science Curriculum:

In grade 8 science there is a unit on virology “the relationship of micro-organisms with living things” where the impacts of viruses on the human population are explored along with basic immune system functions.

In life science, 11 viruses are explored more in-depth, and viral disease is discussed. Dr. Stewart’s work includes Epstein Barr viruses that can affect humans and cause cancer and her work led to research in more human carcinogenic viruses such as HPV and Hepatitis B.

References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4012821/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/woman-who-revealed-missing-link-between-viruses-and-cancer-180972427/

https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/37/12/4674.full.pdf