YALOW, ROSALYN SUSSMAN (19 July 1921–30 May 2011), American medical physicist. Yalow was the first American-born woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and only the second woman since the prize was established in 1901.
Yalow was born in New York City’s Lower East Side to Eastern European immigrants Clara Zipper and Simon Sussman. Although neither of her parents had received a high school education, they instilled in their daughter a drive for education and achievement. In an autobiography written at the time of her Nobel Prize award in 1977, she remembered: “I was an early reader, reading even before kindergarten, and since we did not have books in my home, my older brother, Alexander, was responsible for our trip every week to the Public Library to exchange books already read for new ones to be read.”
Yalow exhibited a passion for mathematics and science, and while attending Hunter College in New York City, she was encouraged by her professors and inspired by renowned physicists like Enrico Fermi to study physics. At the time, it was uncommon for women to be accepted into graduate school for physics, but Yalow was relentless in her journey into the male-dominated field. After graduating from Hunter in January 1941, she attended business school and secured a teaching assistantship in physics at the University of Illinois as the only woman among its four-hundred-member faculty. She speculated that the upheaval of World War II may have facilitated her admission amidst the wartime depletion of male students.
During her graduate studies, Yalow withstood a heavy teaching load and social discrimination, and she earned her PhD in nuclear physics in 1945. That same year she married Aaron Yalow, a fellow physicist. In 1946 she returned to New York City, lecturing on physics at Hunter until 1950.
As World War II raged on, Yalow’s expertise in nuclear physics became increasingly relevant. In 1947 she joined the Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital as a part-time consultant, where she established a pioneering Radioisotope Service. Collaborating with Solomon A. Berson, she conducted groundbreaking research in medical physics, focusing on radioisotope applications in clinical diagnosis and therapy.
In 1959 Yalow and Berson developed the radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique, revolutionizing medical diagnostics. This breakthrough used radioactive isotopes to quickly measure hormones, viruses, enzymes, drugs, and hundreds of other substances. Despite the technique’s commercial potential, Yalow and Berson chose not to patent it, underscoring their commitment to advancing medical science for the greater good.
In 1970 Yalow was appointed chief of the laboratory later renamed the Nuclear Medical Service at the Veterans Administration Hospital. In 1979, she assumed the role of a distinguished professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University. Six years later she transitioned to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine as the Solomon A. Berson Distinguished Professor at Large.
Yalow’s contributions to the physics field earned her numerous accolades and honors, including the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977. She was the first female recipient of the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 1976. Her contributions were also recognized with the National Medal of Science in 1988. Throughout her career, Yalow remained dedicated to mentoring young scientists and fostering a supportive research environment. Her laboratory, named in honor of her late husband, became a renowned training ground for future leaders in medical research.