Mildred Rebstock

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Mildred Catherine Rebstock
chloromycetin
AwardsWomen's National Press Club of Washington DC "Science Woman of the Year" (1950)
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry

Mildred Catherine Rebstock (November 29, 1919 – February 17, 2011) was an American pharmaceutical chemist. She and her team were the first to fully synthesize chloromycetin, also known as chloramphenicol. This was the first instance of an antibiotic being fully synthesized. The World Health Organization classifies it as critically important for human medicine.[1]

Early life and education

Mildred Catherine Rebstock, the daughter of Redna and Adolph Rebstock, was born Nov. 29, 1919 in

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to pursue a doctoral degree after she graduated North Central with a bachelor's in 1942. With her impeccable grade-point average and passion for the sciences, she was able to receive a full fellowship to research ascorbic acid while studying at the university[3] She earned her master's degree in 1943 and her doctorate in 1945.[2] In 1945, Mildred was one of the graduate students initiated into Phi Beta Kappa[4] and Sigma Xi.[5]

Professional career

Dr. Rebstock was hired at Parke-Davis Research Labs from 1945 to 1977 as a junior research chemist and was later promoted to a research leader in 1959.

catalytic hydrogenation of streptomycin, and this new compound was named dihydrostreptomycin. This discovery was simultaneously made by a team at Merck & Co. Although the use of this antibiotic in humans has ceased, it is still used in veterinary medicine.[8]

Soon after her work with dihydrostreptomycin, Dr. Rebstock was tasked with synthesizing a new antibiotic found by John Ehrlich in a culture of Streptomyces venezuela.

Rocky Mountain fever and Typhoid fever, and is still used today as a secondary course of action for extreme cases of meningitis, cholera, and other infectious bacterial diseases.[2] Since its discovery, chloromycetin has been linked to an increased risk of fatal aplastic anemia leading to a decline in its use in humans in the United States. Although it has fallen out of favor in developed nations it is still a vital antibiotic used abundantly in developing nations.[8] Because of this it is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[12]

Mildred Rebstock and Eugene H. Payne. Payne had run the first clinical trials with chloromycetin.[13]

Because of her groundbreaking research, Time Magazine devoted an article to her in 1949, noting that "the achievement was due to teamwork. But a large part of the credit goes to pretty Dr. Mildred Rebstock, a 28-year-old research chemist."[3] Dr. Rebstock advocated for women in scientific research during an interview with the Smithsonian Institution Archives, she stated that, of all the researchers in the field only about three percent of them were women, but she would remain hopeful for the future.[2] In 1950, Rebstock was awarded the "Science Woman of the Year" by the Women's National Press Club of Washington DC organization, and it was presented to her by President Truman.[14]

Rebstock continued her pharmaceutical research for the remainder of her career and spent the latter part of it researching fertility drugs and the synthesis of blood-lipid agents. She died at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI on February 17, 2011.[2]

References

  1. ISBN 9789241515528
    . License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Margaret Ramirez (March 1, 2011). "Mildred C. Rebstock, 1919-2011". Chicago Tribune.
  3. ^ a b "A Legacy of Science - Mildred Rebstock". North Central College. Fall 2009. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Daily Illini 28 March 1945 — Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections". idnc.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  5. ^ "Daily Illini 11 May 1945 — Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections". idnc.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  6. ^ "Mildred Rebstock". North Central College. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.
  7. ISBN 9780801848933
    .
  8. ^
    PMID 24990531
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-3-642-46403-4
    .
  10. ISBN 9780698184107
    .
  11. doi:10.1021/ja01175a065
    .
  12. hdl:10665/325771
    . WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.06. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
  13. ^ "Acc. 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s". Smithsonian Institution Archives. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Obituary: Mildred Catherine Rebstock". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

External links

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