Ethel Ronzoni Bishop (b. August 21, 1890 – 1975) 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 ...

Early life and education

Ethel Ronzoni was born in California. She earned her BS degree from

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

in 1913, her Master's from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1914, and her Ph.D. from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in 1923.

Work

Ronzoni was an instructor of home economics at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

from 1914 to 1917, and was assistant professor of Home Economics at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

for the 1917–18 academic year. Following her Ph.D., Ronzoni joined the

Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine has 1,260 students, 604 of which are pursuing a medical degree with or ...

in 1923, where she worked as an assistant professor until 1943; she appears to be the first woman to have joined the school's academic faculty. While there, she ran the chemistry lab of the Department of Medicine and Barnes Hospital. In 1943 she was promoted to associate professor of biochemistry, a position she held until her retirement in 1959. After World War II, she switched to neuropsychiatry and ran the lab in the Department of Psychiatry. As a researcher, Ronzoni's main focus was

carbohydrate metabolism Carbohydrate metabolism is the whole of the biochemistry, biochemical processes responsible for the metabolic anabolism, formation, catabolism, breakdown, and interconversion of carbohydrates in life, living organisms. Carbohydrates are central t ...

. She also researched

amino acid metabolism Protein metabolism denotes the various biochemical processes responsible for the synthesis of proteins and amino acids (anabolism), and the breakdown of proteins by catabolism. The steps of protein synthesis include transcription, translation, and ...

steroid hormones A steroid hormone is a steroid that acts as a hormone. Steroid hormones can be grouped into two classes: corticosteroids (typically made in the adrenal cortex, hence ''cortico-'') and sex steroids (typically made in the gonads or placenta). Withi ...

and muscle biochemistry.

Personal life

While attending the University of Wisconsin, Ronzoni met

George Holman Bishop George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

. Bishop also worked at Washington University. Ronzoni and Bishop lived in the historical William Long Log House; after the death of Ronzoni in 1975, St. Louis County took over the home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Ethel Ronzoni 1890 births 1975 deaths American women biochemists American physiologists Women physiologists Columbia University alumni Mills College alumni University of Missouri staff University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Washington University School of Medicine faculty 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American chemists Chemists from California