Elisabeth Goldschmidt (; September 22, 1912 – May 6, 1970) was a German-born Israeli geneticist who founded the genetics program at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has been described as "the founding mother of the field of
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
".
Early life and education
Goldschmidt was born Elisabeth Wechsler into an
Orthodox Jew
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...
ish family in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, on September 22, 1912. She began studying
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
at the
University of Frankfurt in 1932, but after
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
rose to power in Germany the following year, she dropped out and moved to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. There she went on to study
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
and
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
, receiving her
B.Sc. degree in 1936. She then emigrated to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
with her husband, Joseph Goldschmidt. She earned her
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1942 with a thesis entitled ''
Cytological studies in
Chironomidae
The Chironomidae (informally known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Many specie ...
''.
Career
After receiving her Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Goldschmidt became a junior assistant in the Department of
Zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
there. In 1950, she was promoted to Instructor in Genetics at the University, and in the same year she was awarded a fellowship from the
American Association of University Women. This fellowship led to her traveling to
the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
for a year, where she worked in the laboratories of
Theodosius Dobzhansky
Theodosius Grigorievich Dobzhansky (russian: Феодо́сий Григо́рьевич Добржа́нский; uk, Теодо́сій Григо́рович Добржа́нський; January 25, 1900 – December 18, 1975) was a prominent ...
and
Curt Stern
Curt Stern (August 30, 1902 – October 23, 1981) was a German-born American geneticist.
Life
Curt Jacob Stern was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Hamburg, Germany on August 30, 1902. He was the first son of Earned S. Stern, born ...
. Upon returning to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1951, she resumed her genetics research and began teaching the subject to medical students. In 1961, with
Chaim Sheba and
Raphael Falk, she organized a Conference on Human Population Genetics, and by 1963 she had worked with her students to found the Laboratory of Genetics (later the Department of Genetics) at the Hebrew University.
She also worked with
Tirza Cohen to establish the first
genetic counseling clinic in Israel at
Hadassah Hospital.
Research
Early in her career, Goldschmidt focused her research on the adaptation of certain organisms to conditions of extreme
salinity. She later began researching
population genetics
Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and between populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as Adaptation (biology), adaptation, ...
in ''
Drosophila
''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many speci ...
'' flies. She learned the technique of
paper chromatography
Paper chromatography is an analytical method used to separate coloured chemicals or substances. It is now primarily used as a teaching tool, having been replaced in the laboratory by other chromatography methods such as thin-layer chromatography ...
from visiting
Ernst Hadorn's lab in 1953, and she went on to apply this in her research. She was also interested in researching the genetic basis of human
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
s such as
Tay-Sachs disease.
Personal life and death
Goldschmidt and her husband, Joseph Goldschmidt, had a son,
Eliezer Goldschmidt, and a daughter,
Yemima Ben-Menachem. She committed suicide on May 6, 1970.
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldschmidt, Elisabeth
1912 births
1970 suicides
Israeli geneticists
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine
Scientists from Frankfurt
Israeli Orthodox Jews
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Human geneticists
Women geneticists
Israeli women scientists
1970 deaths
Suicides in Israel