Hello everyone,
I'm Nidhi Gupta, and this is Women Weekly! In this week of discussing the wonderful women in STEM, we are back with yet another incredible story of Esther Lederberg who was a major pioneer of bacterial genetics. She discovered the lambda phage and also invented the replica plating technique, which is used to isolate and analyse bacterial mutants and track antibiotic resistance.
In an era where women struggled to make their mark in science, Esther Lederberg’s legacy is one of brilliance and resilience. Her work has had a lasting impact on science, providing essential tools and knowledge that have propelled the field forward. Sadly, much of her
recognition came posthumously, and her contributions were often overshadowed by those of her male colleagues, including her husband at the time, Joshua Lederberg, whose Nobel Prize-winning discoveries relied heavily on her contributions. At his ceremony, she was relegated to the sidelines, expected to be "Mrs. Lederberg" rather than recognized as Dr. Lederberg, the accomplished scientist she was. Those who knew her say she came to realize that reputation was fleeting, and that the true legacy was the science itself. "Her attitude was, 'Forget it, I'll be forgotten anyway,'" her widower recalls, still grappling with the injustice a dozen years after her passing. But Dr. Esther Lederberg's contributions are too significant to be forgotten.
Esther's journey into the world of genetics began during her undergraduate years when she was introduced to the mold Neurospora by Bernard Ogilvie Dodge. This encounter sparked a passion for genetics that would guide her career. She went on to work with prominent scientists, including Alexander Hollaender, Milislav Demerec, George W. Beadle, and Edward Tatum. Her work with Beadle and Tatum significantly contributed to their Nobel Prize in 1958.
Esther's invention of the replica plating technique revolutionized microbiology. This technique, inspired by her father's printing press, solved a major problem for scientists: reproducing bacterial colonies exactly as they appeared on the original agar plate. Her discovery of lambda phage, the first virus characterized as lysogenic, and her establishment of the Plasmid Reference Center at Stanford University, further solidified her contributions to the field.
While Joshua Lederberg won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on genetic recombination in bacteria, Esther Lederberg was relegated to the position of a Nobel laureate’s wife. Her job: don a dress and sit in the audience as Joshua took to the stage to accept his award. Throughout her life, Esther struggled to attain positions and promotions that matched her expertise and contributions. While she worked at prestigious institutions like Stanford University, her roles were often limited to assistant positions, which restricted her professional growth and independence. The couple divorced in 1968. However, in 1989, she met Matthew Simon, an engineer who shared her interest in early music. They married in 1993 and remained married for the rest of her life.
After her death in 2006, Simon dedicated countless hours to creating a memorial website in her honor, to ensure Esther receives the recognition she deserves. The website exhaustively catalogs her photographs, her papers, her discoveries, even her extracurricular interests. His labor of love is not just a tribute but an argument for a more inclusive historical narrative, one where Esther Lederberg is rightfully acknowledged as a pioneer in her own right.
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