Lucie Gabrielle Randoin (11 May 1888 – 13 September 1960) was a French biologist, nutritionist, and hygienist. She was made a commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

in 1958 and is known for her research on

vitamins A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrien ...

Early life

Lucie Randoin was born Lucie Fandard on May 11, 1888, in Bouers-en-Othe,

Yonne Yonne () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight constituent departments, it is lo ...

. She attended the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

in Paris and went on to attend the

University of Clermont-Ferrand The University of Clermont-Ferrand was officially founded in 1896, by merging of two existing faculties (Literature and Sciences) and a medical school. In 1976, due to political issues, the University split between University Clermont-Ferrand I - ...

and the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, where she received her Ph.D. in 1918.

Career and research

In the last year of her doctoral studies, Randoin joined Albert Dastre as his research assistant. After receiving her doctorate, she went on to become a researcher at the Oceanographic Institute of Paris, a position she held for two years, from 1918 to 1920. Randoin was the director of the physiology laboratory at the French Institut national de la recherche agronomique (National Institute of Agricultural Research) from 1924 to 1954; she had been a researcher there from 1920 to 1923. Randoin was also the director of the Institut Supérieur de l'Alimentation (Institute of Nutritional Science) from 1942 to 1960, and the director of the École Dietétique in 1951. Randoin spent her research career studying the role of vitamins in

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

and their composition. She discovered that vitamins B and C can affect sugar metabolism, which led to research on the connection between

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

and

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

Honors

Randoin was awarded the Natural Sciences fellowship in 1911, becoming one of the first women to receive it. She was admitted into the Académie de Medecin in 1946 and was a 1958 recipient of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randoin, Lucie French biologists 1960 deaths French women biologists 1888 births 20th-century French women scientists 20th-century biologists