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As part of International Women's Day, today we recognize the achievements of five women who transformed radiology. Thanks to their discoveries, contributions and inventions, millions of patients can access diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy services. Let's continue working to increase this number and honor the great doctors and scientists who raised radiology to new heights.
Irène Joliot-Curie, D.Sc (1897-1956)
Dr. Joliot-Curie's accomplishments speak for themselves. In addition to being a field radiologist during the First World War, she followed the legacy of her mother, Marie Curie, in the study of radioactivity. Together with her husband Frédéric, she discovered the existence of radioactive isotopes that can be manufactured cheaply. This breakthrough made imaging and treatments for cancer accessible for the first time, for which she was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1935. During the ceremony, the committee stated that Dr. Joliot-Curie's discoveries would lead to “priceless remedies” for all humanity; and so it was.
Edith Quimby, D.Sc (1891-1982)
Dr. Quimby's specialty was physics, but her domain was the medical area. His work was born out of a desire to protect both doctors and patients from the damage of X-ray radiation, without compromising the quality of treatment. Quimby's research transformed the dosimetry landscape and is the basis of the Memorial system, which is still used to calculate radiation doses in brachytherapy. Thanks to it, diagnostic radiology exists as we know it today: effective, elevated and, above all, safe.
Tikvah Alper, M.A. (1909-1995)
Dr. Alper made the invisible visible through radiobiology. During his research on the effects of radiation on cells, he discovered that certain viruses can replicate without being affected by radiation. This revolutionized the field and gave way to prion theory, which today forms the basis of our knowledge about infectious neurodegenerative diseases. Alper was not afraid to question what was established and go further to discover the truth, breaking paradigms and taking radiobiology to another level.
Alice Ettinger, M.D. (1899-1993)
Dr. Ettinger was a hero in more ways than one. She arrived from Berlin to the United States on what she thought would be a trip of a few weeks, and ended up staying more than 50 years at the Tufts University School of Medicine. He introduced gastrointestinal radiology to the country, pioneered the emerging field of tomography and employed refugee doctors from Germany during the 1930s. Even today, Ettinger has left a mark among her colleagues as an extraordinary radiologist who pushed the discipline to new horizons.
Muyinatu Bell, PhD
Dr. Bell is responsible for the most significant innovations in radiological equipment in recent years. She is founder and director of the Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Systems Engineering Laboratory (PULSE) at Johns Hopkins University. She also led the creation of the first Short Delay Spatial Coherence (SLSC) system for ultrasound, introduced the use of photoacoustic images with optical fiber to assist in delicate surgeries, and is a pioneer in combining these tools with minimally invasive robotic surgery. Still active as a researcher, Bell promises to be an essential force for the creation of new advanced radiology tools.
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