Dr. Marie Maynard Daly

Dr. Daly (1921-2003), an extraordinary biochemist and trailblazer, was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry and the first African American to receive a doctoral degree from Columbia University. Daly's pioneering research, spanning over 20 peer-reviewed publications, covered cardiovascular health, digestion, protein synthesis, and many other areas.  Her work advanced the understanding of heart disease, cholesterol, and metabolic disorders. Daly also made critical contributions through her study of nucleic acid composition and the determination of the amino acid sequence of histones and the structures of purines and pyrimidines - the foundational components of DNA. James Watson and Francis Crick acknowledged Daly's findings of these DNA building blocks in their Nobel address. Daly's invaluable research permeates almost all aspects of our scientific understanding and health research today.