Mary Jeanne Kreek (9 February 1937 – March 27, 2021) was an American neurobiologist specializing in the study and treatment of addiction. She is best known for her work with Marie Nyswander and Dr.

Vincent Dole Vincent Dole (18 May 1913, in Chicago – 1 August 2006) was an American doctor, who, along with his wife, Marie Nyswander (died 1986), developed the use of methadone to treat heroin addiction. Dole and Nyswander, in establishing methadone mainte ...

in the development of

methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid agonist used for chronic pain and also for opioid dependence. It is used to treat chronic pain, and it is also used to treat addiction to heroin ...

therapy for heroin addiction.

Education

Kreek graduated with a B.A. in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

from Wellesley College in 1958, and in 1962, she received her M.D. from

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded ...

Career

Kreek completed a fellowship in

gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract ...

New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

after completing her M.D. She taught medicine at the

Cornell Medical College The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...

. In 2000, Kreek was named a Fellow of the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wi ...

, and in 2004, she received an Alumni Gold Medal Award from

for "lifetime excellence in medicine". In 2014, Kreek was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the

National Institute on Drug Abuse The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a United States federal government research institute whose mission is to "advance science on the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction and to apply that knowledge to improve individual a ...

. As of November 2015, she was a Senior Attending Physician, the Patrick E. and Beatrice M. Haggerty Professor, and Head of the Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases at

The Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classified ...

. Kreek served as a visiting professor for St. George's University in Grenada, West Indies, from 1979-2015, as well on the board of directors for the campus-based research institution, the Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF).

Personal life

Her father, Louis Francis Kreek, was an Examiner-in-Chief and served on the board of the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

. On January 24, 1970, she married Dr. Robert A. Schaefer. She died on March 27, 2021, at the age of 84.

References

External links

Rockefeller University page
* 2017 Oral History Intervie

1937 births 2021 deaths American neurologists Women neurologists Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Rockefeller University faculty Wellesley College alumni 20th-century American women scientists {{US-chemist-stub