Ann Stone Minot (April 25, 1894 – 1980) was an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical a ...

. She was born in

Woodsville, New Hampshire Woodsville is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest village in the town of Haverhill in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States, along the Connecticut River at the mouth of the Ammonoosuc River. The population was 1,431 at the 2 ...

, the oldest of six children born to Jonas Minot and Sybil Buck. For their early education, Minot and her siblings attended the

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Village School, a small three-room schoolhouse. Starting in 1911, Minot matriculated to

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

with the help of a partial scholarship, where she majored in chemistry and English. She graduated in 1915 with an A.B. degree. Her first full-time job was as a teacher at

Woodsville High School Woodsville High School, in Woodsville, New Hampshire, is a public secondary school located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, serving the towns of Haverhill (including North Haverhill, East Haverhill, Woodsville, and Mountain Lakes), Ba ...

. She was soon hired as a lab assistant at

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

, where she remained for five years, acquiring an interest in biochemical and physiological clinical studies. During this period she published eighteen scientific papers, and worked with the biochemical pioneer Willey Denis starting in 1917. In 1920 she returned to school for graduate studies at

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

, which then functioned as the all-female branch of Harvard College. She investigated

lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. The brain is the most sensitive. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, inferti ...

for her doctorate, and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1925 with a thesis titled, "Distribution of Lead in the Organism in Acute and Chronic Lead Poisoning". Following graduation, in 1926 Minot was hired by Dr. Paul D. Lamson as a research associate in the department of pharmacology at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee for a $2,500 annual salary. In 1930 she became an assistant professor of pediatric research at Vanderbilt, investigating the effects of hormones on bone growth and studying fluid balance in infant diarrhea. Her studies led her to an interest in progressive muscle diseases, including

myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, dro ...

and

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

. In 1938, she became the first to apply guanidine to treat myasthenia gravis. Other topics of research include

protein deficiency Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respon ...

, Vitamin C deficiency, and tocopherol. She established the Vanderbilt Hospital blood bank in 1940, and it was made her responsibility until 1949 when it was taken over by the Red Cross. Minot was named associate professor in biochemistry at Vanderbilt in 1943. She remained in pediatric research until 1946, when she became Director of the Clinical Chemistry Lab. In 1948, she was elected to alumni membership of Phi Beta Kappa, Zeta Chapter, for her bone treatment method. Minot was raised to full professorship in 1950, and remained so until 1960 when she retired and was named professor emeritus. She continued as a research associate in endocrinology until finally giving up her research pursuits in 1969 at the age of 75. In total, she published 70 scientific papers.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minot, Ann Stone 1894 births 1980 deaths People from Woodsville, New Hampshire Smith College alumni Radcliffe College alumni Vanderbilt University faculty 20th-century American biochemists American physiologists American women physiologists American medical researchers