Miriam Salpeter

summa cum laude. Salpeter moved to Cornell University for her doctoral studies, where she earned a PhD under the supervision of Howard Liddell. She spent a year at the Australian National University before returning to Cornell University as a postdoctoral fellow with Marcus Singer.^[1] Singer's laboratory was based in the Zoology department, where she studied cells using an electron microscope.^[1] Salpeter was appointed a research associate in the Singer lab in 1961 and soon after promoted to Senior Research Associate.^[2]

Neurobiology was an emerging field at the start of Salpeter's research career, and she decided to concentrate her efforts on the neuromuscular junction.^[1] The neuromuscular junction is a synapse that controls all voluntary movement, the formation of which was extensively investigated by Salpeter throughout her research career. In particular, Salpeter looked at the role of acetylcholine receptors.^[2] Salpeter struggled to secure a faculty position at Cornell University – Singer, her biggest advocate in the department, moved to Case Western Reserve University, and the academic community were not welcoming to women.^[3] Salpeter did not let this atmosphere faze her, and continued her research as a non-faculty member.^[4] In 1967 Salpeter was recruited to the Cornell University Section of Neurobiology and Behavior. Here she worked in the laboratory of Benjamin Siegel and was supported by the National Institutes of Health.^[1] She spent a year in the laboratory of Vincent Wigglesworth at the University of Cambridge.^[1]

Edwin Ernest Salpeter, on the interactions between nerves and muscle fibres.^[5]

Edwin Ernest Salpeter in 1950. Together they had two daughters, Judy and Shelley. At the age of 71 she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She continued to visit her laboratory everyday until the day that she died.^[8]