She went on lecture circuits, giving talks up and down the East Coast. KATIE HAFNER: When she was working in the 1940s and 50s, Dorothy Andersen was driven to get the word out about what she’d learned about cystic fibrosis. In this episode, we want to tell you about that legacy-and the progress that grew from her life’s work. In the 1960s, cystic fibrosis patients rarely lived past their mid-teens.īut the story of cystic fibrosis takes a turn for the better.Īnd that’s the heart of this episode: we believe Celia Ores is the only living person who actually knew Dorothy Andersen well, and in holding that photograph, she’s holding Dr. KATIE HAFNER: But she couldn’t help everyone. If I had some issues with a patient that I don't fully understand, I went to her and told her that I don't know what I can do next for this patient. Ores dedicated a large part of her career to patients with the disease.ĬELIA ORES: Every little bit of cystic fibrosis that I know is what she told me. KATIE HAFNER: Dorothy Andersen took Celia Ores under her wing, passing on what she had learned about cystic fibrosis, and in turn, Dr. Andersen close to her chest, as she talks to Sophie McNulty, our associate producer.ĬELIA ORES: When I came to the United States, she was the only one who treated me really, really well. She’s holding a black-and-white photograph of Dr. KATIE HAFNER: We’re back in the New York apartment of Celia Ores.ĭr. And the one of you in Switzerland in medical school. Andersen in the early 1960s.ĬELIA ORES: Can you put this down and we go and pick up Dr.
Celia Ores, a pediatrician mentored by Dr. The last living keeper of that legacy is Dr. And we’ll also explore Dorothy Andersen’s legacy, starting at the end of her life. In this episode, we’ll explore advances in CF treatment. Collins is one of the geneticists who isolated the cystic fibrosis gene in 1989. Francis Collins, the outgoing director of the NIH. One of those parts is linked to that voice you just heard singing. Dorothy Andersen, a physician who was the first to identify the disease cystic fibrosis in the 1930s. This is the final episode of our first season, “The Pathologist in the Basement.” We’ve been telling the story of Dr. We’re revisiting the historical record, one extraordinary scientist at a time. We devote each season to the life and work of one woman. KATIE HAFNER: I’m Katie Hafner and this is Lost Women of Science, a podcast in which we unearth stories of female scientists who didn’t receive the recognition they deserved. Unafraid, our hopes unswayed, till the story of CF is history. LISTEN TO THE PODCASTįRANCIS COLLINS: Dare to dream, dare to dream, all our brothers and sisters breathing free. This podcast is distributed by PRX and published in partnership with Scientific American. A passionate outdoorswoman, a “rugged individualist” and a bit of an enigma, Andersen changed the way we understand acute lung and gastrointestinal problems in young children. Our first season, “The Pathologist in the Basement,” is all about Dorothy Andersen, a physician and pathologist who solved a medical mystery when she identified and defined cystic fibrosis in 1938. Katie Hafner, a longtime reporter for the New York Times, explains the science behind each woman’s work and explores the historical context in which she lived. But in the stories we’ve come to accept about those breakthroughs, women are too often left out.Įach season at Lost Women of Science, we’ll look at one woman and her scientific accomplishment: who she was, how she lived and what she found out.
Follow The Lost Women of Science Initiative on Twitterįrom the COVID vaccine to pulsars to computer programming, women are at the source of many scientific discoveries, inventions and innovations that shape our lives. The Lost Women of Science Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with two overarching and interrelated missions: to tell the story of female scientists who made groundbreaking achievements in their fields-yet remain largely unknown to the general public-and to inspire girls and young women to embark on careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The author of six books of nonfiction, she is currently host and executive producer of Our Mothers Ourselves, an interview podcast that celebrates extraordinary mothers.
Not only does she bring a skilled hand to complex narratives, but she has been writing about women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) for nearly 30 years. Hafner is uniquely positioned to tell these stories. She is a longtime reporter for the New York Times, where she continues to be a frequent contributor, writing on health care and technology. Katie Hafner is host and executive producer of Lost Women of Science.