Rebecca Craighill Lancefield
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Rebecca Craighill Lancefield (January 5, 1895 – March 3, 1981). p.227 was a prominent
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...
. She joined the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller University) in New York in 1918, and was associated with that institute throughout her long and outstanding career. Her bibliography comprises more than 50 publications published over 60 years. Lancefield is best known for her serological classification of β-
hemolytic Hemolysis or haemolysis (), also known by several other names, is the rupturing (lysis) of red blood cells (erythrocytes) and the release of their contents (cytoplasm) into surrounding fluid (e.g. blood plasma). Hemolysis may occur in vivo o ...
streptococcal bacteria,
Lancefield grouping Lancefield grouping is a system of classification that classifies catalase-negative Gram-positive cocci based on the carbohydrate composition of bacterial antigens found on their cell walls. The system, created by Rebecca Lancefield, was historic ...
, which is based on the
carbohydrate 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 ma ...
composition of
bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
l
antigen In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule or molecular structure or any foreign particulate matter or a pollen grain that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. ...
s found on their
cell wall A cell wall is a structural layer surrounding some types of cells, just outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. It provides the cell with both structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mech ...
s. She is also responsible for the serological typing of Group A Streptococci.


Early life and education

Lancefield was born at Fort Wadsworth,
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,
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. Her father was an officer in the US Army Engineer Corps. She attended
Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
in Massachusetts. After graduating in 1916 with a degree in
zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
, she taught math and science at a girls school in Vermont for one year. She accepted a scholarship to Teachers' College,
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 ...
, and continued to study bacteriology. Lancefield received her master's degree from Columbia in 1918. The same year, she married Donald E. Lancefield, a fellow graduate student in genetics at Columbia. After graduation, she worked as a technician for Oswald Avery and Alphonse Dochez at Rockefeller. The following year, she returned to Columbia to study on ''
Drosophila willistoni ''Drosophila willistoni'' is a species of fruit fly. It was originally described by Alfred Sturtevant in 1916. It ranges from Florida, Mexico and Caribbean islands southwards to Argentina and is the most common Drosophilid fruit fly in the Ama ...
'' under Charles W. Metz.


Career and research

Lancefield's first co-authored paper was published in 1919 when she was a technician, an unusual recognition at the time. Previous to this work, researchers did not know if different streptococcal strains were biologically distinct. Working with Avery and Dochez, she identified four serological types that classified 70 percent of the ß-hemolytic streptococcal strains they were studying. For her PhD thesis, Lancefield studied
viridans streptococci The viridans streptococci are a large group of commensal streptococcal Gram-positive bacteria species that are α-hemolytic, producing a green coloration on blood agar plates (hence the name "viridans", from Latin "vĭrĭdis", green), although so ...
. Lancefield originally joined the lab of
Hans Zinsser Hans Zinsser (November 17, 1878 – September 4, 1940) was an American physician, bacteriologist, and prolific author. The author of over 200 books and medical articles, he was also a published poet. Some of his verses were published in '' ...
. Zissner did not want to work with women, and suggested she move her work to the lab of Homer Swift. Therefore, the majority of her work was carried out at Rockefeller, where Swift's lab was located. At the time, viridans streptococci were incorrectly believed to contribute to
rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a streptococcal throat infection. Signs and symptoms include fever, multiple painful jo ...
. Lancefield's thesis work helped dispel this idea. After her PhD, Lancefield returned to studying ß-hemolytic streptococci at Rockefeller. She now aimed to identify the biological components of surface antigens located on the bacteria. In 1928, Lancefield reported that the type-specific antigen of streptococci was a protein. She named this protein the M-protein because a matt colony occurs when the bacteria is exposed to the antigen. Lancefield discovered that the group-specific antigen of streptococci was composed of
carbohydrate 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 ma ...
s, which she named the C-carbohydrate. Within this discovery, Lancefield revealed that the C-carbohydrate was not species-specific, as originally thought. This realization prompted her development of a classification system, called
Lancefield grouping Lancefield grouping is a system of classification that classifies catalase-negative Gram-positive cocci based on the carbohydrate composition of bacterial antigens found on their cell walls. The system, created by Rebecca Lancefield, was historic ...
, for streptococcal diseases. She initially designated group A for human streptococcal infections and group B for bovine streptococcal infections. Today, Lancefield groups includes groups A through M. Lancefield discovered two additional group A streptococci surface proteins: the T-antigen, in 1940, and the R-antigen, in 1957. Later in her career, she focused on group B streptococci. Her research revealed that group B streptococci lacked the M-protein. She discovered that, instead, surface polysaccharides were responsible for their virulence factor. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Lancefield served on the Commission on Streptococcal and Staphylococcal Diseases of the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board. In 1946, Lancefield was promoted to associate member at Rockefeller University. She was promoted to full member and professor at Rockefeller in 1958. Lancefield was a long-time collaborator of
Maclyn McCarty Maclyn McCarty (June 9, 1911 – January 2, 2005) was an American geneticist, a research scientist described in 2005 as "the last surviving member of a Manhattan scientific team that overturned medical dogma in the 1940's and became the first to ...
and a mentor of Emil Gotschlich, two recipients of the notable
Lasker Prize The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1945 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, which was f ...
.


Honors

In 1943, she was the second woman to become president of the Society of American Bacteriologists. In 1961, she became president of the American Association of Immunologists, the first woman to hold the position. She was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
in 1970. In 1973, she was awarded an honorary
Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
by Rockefeller University. She was formally honored by Wellesley College, her alma mater, in 1976. Lancefield received many awards, including the T. Duckett Jones Award of the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation, the
American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...
Achievement Award, and the Medal of the
New York Academy of Medicine The New York Academy of Medicine (the Academy) is a health policy and advocacy organization founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health ...
.


Death and legacy

Lancefield's recipe for eggnog has been used by her fellow scientists for decades and was published on '' Science Friday''. Due to Lancefield's willingness to answer microbiological questions, her lab at Rockefeller earned the nickname "the Scotland Yard of streptococcal mysteries." The Lancefield International Symposium on Streptococci and Streptococcal Diseases is named in her honor. The samples collected over her career are now maintained by Rockefeller University as the Lancefield collection. To date, the collection includes over 6,000 streptococci strains.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancefield, Rebecca 1895 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American biologists 20th-century American women scientists American bacteriologists American immunologists American microbiologists people from Staten Island Rockefeller University faculty scientists from New York (state) serologists Wellesley College alumni women microbiologists