Eleanor Anne Young (October 8, 1925 – July 13, 2007) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pra ...

, research scientist, and educator. She was inducted into the

Texas Women's Hall of Fame The Texas Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1984 by the Governor's Commission on Women. The honorees are selected biennially from submissions from the public. The honorees must be either native Texans, or a resident of Texas at the time of th ...

in 1994.

Biography

The daughter of Carl Young and Eleanor Hamilton, she was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. Young joined the

Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word is the name of two Roman Catholic religious institutes based in the U.S. state of Texas. They use the abbreviation C.C.V.I. ( la, Congregatio Caritatis Verbi Incarnati). History Hous ...

in 1946. She received a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry (1947) from Incarnate Word College, a master's in nutrition education (1955) from St. Louis University and a PhD in nutrition, biochemistry and physiology (1968) 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, ...

. She was an associate professor at Incarnate Word College and then a professor in medicine at the

University of Texas Health Science Center The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...

. Young often asked her students to eat the same food as was being served to patients to help them appreciate the patient's viewpoint. She also served on the staff at the Health Center Hospital as an associate consulting member and as a consultant in nutrition at the

Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital (STVHCS) is a care facility affiliated with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in Bexar County, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is operated by the United States Department of Veterans ...

. Young led the first studies to show a hereditary

lactase Lactase is an enzyme produced by many organisms. It is located in the brush border of the small intestine of humans and other mammals. Lactase is essential to the complete digestion of whole milk; it breaks down lactose, a sugar which gives ...

deficiency in

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

people. The nutrition curriculum that she established at the University of Texas Health Science Center was hailed by the National Academy of Sciences as a model for this type of program. In 1982, she was named Texas Dietician of the Year. In 1991, she was named a fellow of the American Institute of Nutrition. She died at the Incarnate Word Retirement Community in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. Young donated her body to science.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Eleanor Ann 1925 births 2007 deaths American women nutritionists American nutritionists Saint Louis University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio faculty Physicians from Houston 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns 20th-century American scientists 20th-century American women scientists Catholics from Texas 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns