Jane Anne Russell (also called Jane Anne Russell Wilhelmi; February 9, 1911 – March 12, 1967) was an endocrinologist. She researched pituitary extract.

Education

Russell graduated from

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

, California, in 1928, as the second best student in her class. At age 17, she entered the University of California Berkeley, and graduated in 1932 as first in her class. She was awarded the California Fellowship in Biochemistry in 1934 and the Rosenburg Fellowship in 1935. Russell obtained her

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in 1937 working at the Institute of Experimental Biology at the University of California, Berkeley on the study of

pituitary hormones In vertebrate anatomy, the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland, about the size of a chickpea and weighing, on average, in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain. The hypoph ...

in carbohydrate metabolism.

Career

Following her Ph.D., she continued at the University of California, Berkeley doing post-doctoral research on a Porter fellowship from the American Physiological Society. In 1938 she moved to Yale University, where she first worked as a postdoctoral investigator and was an instructor from 1941 until 1950 when she moved to Emory University. She taught biochemistry at Emory University from 1950 to 1967. During 1954–57 Russell worked on the committee of the United States National Research Council, then during 1958–64 at the National Science Foundation. She became a full professor at Emory University in 1965.

Research

In 1936, Russell spent time working with the Nobel-prize winning couple

Carl Ferdinand Cori Carl Ferdinand Cori, ForMemRS (December 5, 1896 – October 20, 1984) was an Austrian-American biochemist and pharmacologist born in Prague (then in Austria-Hungary, now Czech Republic) who, together with his wife Gerty Cori and Argentine physio ...

and Gerty Cori researching the impact of epinephrine and insulin on metabolism.

Pituitary gland research

Russell's major research indicated that fasting rats lose muscle

glycogen Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. The polysaccharide structure represents the main storage form of glucose in the body. Glycogen functions as one o ...

following pituitary removal and injections of pituitary extract can prevent weight loss. She determined the relationship between the

anterior pituitary A major organ of the endocrine system, the anterior pituitary (also called the adenohypophysis or pars anterior) is the glandular, anterior lobe that together with the posterior lobe (posterior pituitary, or the neurohypophysis) makes up the p ...

and

carbohydrates In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...

. Her work allowed the further isolation and identification of growth hormones.

Recognition

Russell was awarded the Kraft Prize, Phi Beta Kappa Key, Steward Scholarship, and University Gold Medal. In 1945 she received the CIBA award of the

Endocrine Society The Endocrine Society is a professional, international medical organization in the field of endocrinology and metabolism, founded in 1916 as The Association for the Study of Internal Secretions. The official name of the organization was changed ...

. She worked on the National Institutes of Health peer review committee, and was Vice President of the Endocrine Society. Russell was awarded the Upjohn Award of the Endocrine Society in 1961 and elected a member of Sigma Xi.

Personal life

Russell married Alfred Ellis Wilhelmi in 1940. She enjoyed gardening, sewing and origami. Russell developed breast cancer in 1962, but worked to the end of her life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Jane Anne 1911 births 1967 deaths American endocrinologists Women endocrinologists University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century American physicians Emory University faculty American women biochemists 20th-century American women scientists Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni 20th-century American biochemists