From Aron’s Desk

To our knowledge, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science is the first university in the country named in honor of a woman scientist. We take great pride in our namesake, the work she did, what she overcame, and the person she was. Rosalind Franklin, PhD, was born 106 years ago this weekend.

For the uninitiated, Dr. Franklin is best remembered as an X-ray crystallographer who demonstrated the helical structure of DNA in the now-iconic Photo 51, which forms the basis of our university’s seal and logo. (We have an excellent interactive website demonstrating how the picture was taken and why it looks like it does.) That discovery and the work behind it are the result of her remarkable talent and dedication. The detailed structure of DNA was essentially impenetrable without the information from Photo 51, and for that reason, nearly all of molecular biology and the modern work of biomedical research stem from it in some way. 

The structure of DNA is a big enough project for a career, but in many ways, the DNA work is not the most impressive or original work of Dr. Franklin’s too-short career. She also did groundbreaking work on the structure of coal and the tobacco mosaic virus, the first virus to be discovered and characterized. Dr. Franklin and her team had determined the overall structure of the virus via x-ray crystallography by the time of her death from ovarian cancer in 1958. 

 Dr. Franklin was a well-known and respected scientist in her lifetime, and her projects became major turning points in molecular biology and biochemistry. There is no doubt that Dr. Franklin’s work on DNA was shortchanged, and that she faced misogyny at many points in her career. It can be hard to judge, but my searches suggest about 10% of scientists in the 1950s were women. And, while it is not possible to prove that her work killed her, radiation does cause ovarian cancer. She was exposed to a good deal of radiation through her career in a time before good safety protocols. 

It is not really fair to Dr. Franklin, the person, to make her life and science into a morality tale, but we do take great inspiration from her curiosity, her determination, and her extraordinary talent. This week, my Town Hall  is focused on Dr. Franklin, her work, and her life with a panel including our fellow namesake, her niece, Rosalind S. Franklin. Dr. Franklin made a remarkable life in discovery.

Improving the wellness of all people with you, 

Aron