Hattie Alexander

Hattie Elizabeth Alexander (April 5, 1901 – June 24, 1968) was an American pediatrician and microbiologist. She is known for her development of the first effective remedies for Haemophilus influenzae infection,[1] as well as being one of the first scientists to identify and study antibiotic resistance.[2]

Hattie E. Alexander
Alexander, c. 1960
BornApril 5, 1901
Baltimore, Maryland
DiedJune 24, 1968(1968-06-24) (aged 67)
New York City
Alma materGoucher College (BA)
Johns Hopkins University (MD)
Known forHaemophilus influenzae, antibiotic resistance
AwardsE. Mead Johnson Award (1943)
Scientific career
Fieldspediatrician and microbiologist

Early life and education

Alexander was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated from Goucher College in 1923 with degrees in bacteriology and physiology.[2] She worked for the United States Public Health Service and the Maryland Public Health Service, and then enrolled at Johns Hopkins University medical school, where she received her M.D. in 1930.[3] she did her internship at Baltimore's Harriet Lane Home. She was afterwards a resident at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center's Babies Hospital in New York City.[2]

Career

In 1932, she became an instructor and researcher in the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University, where she spent her entire professional career.[2] From 1941 to 1945 she served as a consultant to Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson on the Influenza Commission.[4] Alexander was the first woman o serve as president of the American Pediatric Society.[5]

Research

In the wake of the development of an anti-pneumonia serum at New York's Rockefeller Institute, Alexander reported a cure rate for infants of 75% with influenzal meningitis in 1939.[6] In the early 1940s, Alexander began researching Haemophilus influenzae (Hib), at the time an almost invariably fatal disease in infants and young children. [2]

She developed an improved antiserum for the disease; by combining antiserum therapy with the use of sulfa drugs, and developing standardized techniques for diagnosis and treatment, she and her associate Grace Leidy helped reduce the mortality rate from Hib from nearly 100 percent to less than 25 percent. Later, Alexander and Leidy studied the effect of antibiotics on Hib, finding streptomycin to be highly effective.[7][8] The combined use of the antiserum, sulfa drugs, and antibiotics significantly lowered the mortality rate from Hib.[2]

In the course of her research on antibiotics, Alexander noted and reported the appearance of antibiotic-resistant strains of Hib. She concluded, correctly, that this was caused by random genetic mutations in DNA which were positively selected through evolution; she and Leidy demonstrated the occurrence of transformation in the Hib bacillus, leading to resistance.[2]

She died of liver cancer in New York City on June 24, 1968.[5]

Awards and honors

Alexander received numerous honors and awards for her work, including the E. Mead Johnson Award (1942), the Elizabeth Blackwell Award (1956), and the Oscar B. Hunter Memorial Award (1962). In 1964, she was elected president of the American Pediatric Society. She was the first women to be elected to this position.[9]

References
  1. Alexander, HE; Leidy, G (1946), "Influence of Streptomycin on Type b Haemophilus influenzae.", Science (published Aug 2, 1946), 104 (2692): 101–102, Bibcode:1946Sci...104..101A, doi:10.1126/science.104.2692.101, PMID 17790172
  2. "Hattie Elizabeth Alexander | American physician and microbiologist". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  3. "Changing the Face of Medicine | Hattie Elizabeth Alexander". cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  4. "Hattie Alexander papers | Archives and Special Collections". www.library-archives.cumc.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  5. Ligon, B. Lee (2000-04-01). "Biography: Hattie Alexander, MD: Pioneer researcher". Seminars in Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 11 (2): 155–158. doi:10.1053/pi.2000.7104. ISSN 1045-1870.
  6. "Notable People | Goucher College". www.goucher.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  7. Alexander, Hattie E. (1946-08-01). "Streptomycin in pediatrics". The Journal of Pediatrics. 29 (2): 192–198. doi:10.1016/S0022-3476(46)80107-0. ISSN 0022-3476.
  8. "Symposium on Tuberculosis in Infancy and Childhood" (PDF). library.ucsd.edu. November 1955. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  9. Zierdt-Warshaw, Linda; Winkler, Alan; Bernstein, Leonard, eds. (2000). "Alexander, Hattie Elizabeth (1901-1968)". American Women in Technology. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 6–7. ISBN 1-57607-072-7.

Sources

Further reading
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