MHC Connections :
Women in Medicine at Mount Holyoke
Mount
Holyoke College has a long, distinguished history of encouraging
women in scientific and medical enterprise. Here are just
a few of our alumnae who
went into medical and research fields. Three of these women,
Dorothy Hansine Andersen (1922), Virginia Apgar (1929), and
Janet L. Mitchell (1972), are also featured in the national
exhibit. The
other women on this page are not featured in
the exhibit, but each has done her part to
change the face of medicine.
Alumnae
Featured in the Exhibit
Dorothy
Hansine Andersen (1922) Dr. Andersen was a noted
pathologist and pioneer in cystic fibrosis research and
treatment; Andersen was the first person to identify
cystic fibrosis and the first American physician to describe
the disease.
Dorothy
Hansine Anderson's Biography
Virginia
Apgar (1929) Dr. Apgar was the first woman to
achieve the rank of full professor at the Columbia University
College of Physicians and Surgeons. A pioneer in the field
of anesthesia, she is most famous for the neonatal viability
test used today and known as the Apgar Test.
"Frankly,
How Did She Do It?" - pdf handout on
Apgar
Virginia
Apgar's Biography
National
Library of Medicine Online Apgar Exhibit
Janet
L Mitchell (1972) Dr. Mitchell runs the largest
prenatal program for pregnant, drug-addicted women
in New York City. Janet
L. Mitchell's Biography
Alumnae Not Featured in the Exhibit
Mary
Phylinda Dole (BA
1886, BS 1889) - Physician and Weaver
Mary
Phylinda Dole ran a private practice in Greenfield, MA
and then in New Haven, CT from 1891 to 1927. In 1927
she retired from
medicine and began hand weaving. Her autobiography, "A
Doctor in Homespun," was
published in 1941.
"Everlastingly
Sticking At It" - pdf handout on Dole
Ruth
Humphries (1912) – Osteopathic Physician
Ruth Humphries was the first woman president of the New England
Osteopathic Association. She was also one of the founders
of Massachusetts Osteopathic Hospital. Though she struggled
with ill health for many years, she consistently won the
praise and admiration of the medical and research communities
in which she practiced.
Ida
B. Scudder (1925) – Radiologist
and Medical Missionary
Ida B. Scudder trained in radiology before moving to Vellore,
India for more than 30 years of service at the Christian Medical
Colleges and Hospital, founded by her aunt, Dr. Ida S. Scudder.
In Vellore, Ida B. founded diagnostic radiology and radiotherapy
departments at the hospital. A biography of her life, “Legacy
and Challenge – The Story of Dr. Ida B. Scudder” by
Jennifer Georgia, was published in 1994.
Elizabeth
Onyemelukwe Garner (1989)
Dr. Garner is a clinician and researcher with special interest
in cervical and ovarian cancer. She
is currently an Associate Gynecologist in the Department
of Gynecologic Oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
in Boston, MA.
Click here for a list of Archival Collections
of Women in Medicine at MHC.
To
learn more about the history of scientific practice at Mount
Holyoke
College, explore the website created
by the students in Eleanor Townsley's Sociology
224: Practicing Sociology.
  
  
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