Anna Foà (16 January 1876 – 1/2 July 1944) was an Italian

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

. Foà was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 16 January 1876. She studied under

Giovanni Battista Grassi Giovanni Battista Grassi (27 March 1854 – 4 May 1925) was an Italian people, Italian physician and zoologist, best known for his pioneering works on parasitology, especially on malariology. He was Professor of Comparative Zoology at the Unive ...

at the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

, where she graduated with a

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

mites Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...

. Foà's scientific publications were typically through in-house journals and co-authored with Grassi, with whom she published a study on

flagellate A flagellate is a cell or organism with one or more whip-like appendages called flagella. The word ''flagellate'' also describes a particular construction (or level of organization) characteristic of many prokaryotes and eukaryotes and the ...

structure and reproduction in 1904. In 1905, Foà began working as an entomologist at the Royal Antiphiloxeric Observatory in

Fauglia Fauglia () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about southeast of Pisa. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,298 and an area of .All demograp ...

, where she worked with Grassi to study ways to combat

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

infestations by exploiting the insect's reproductive cycle. Foà, in collaboration with Grassi and other collaborators, published their findings on various phylloxerine species in 1912, which included the description of four new species. Foà worked as Grassi's

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, research institute, or privately held organization to provide assistance in academic or private research endeavors. Research assistants work under ...

and

teaching assistant A teaching assistant (TA) or education assistant (EA) is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate students; ''undergraduate teach ...

for over 25 years. While working in Fauglia, Foà was influential in promoting entomology among women, as she supervised the mixed-sex undergraduates instructed by Grassi. In 1917, Foà began working for the Italian government to oversee the import and export of plants. Beginning in 1918, Foà shifted the focus of her research to

silkworm ''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...

s and infections caused in silkworms by ''

Nosema bombycis ''Nosema bombycis'' is a species of Microsporidia of the genus ''Nosema (microsporidian), Nosema'' infecting Bombyx mori, silkworms, responsible for pébrine. This species was the first microsporidium described, when pebrine decimated silkworms i ...

''. Grassi's support of her allowed for Foà to work as a professor despite being a woman. In 1921, she began teaching at the Royal Agricultural School in

Portici Portici (; ) is a town and municipality (''comune'') of the Metropolitan City of Naples in the region of Campania in Italy. It has 51,351 inhabitants. Geography Portici lies at the foot of Mount Vesuvius on the Bay of Naples, about southeast of ...

, and she received

academic tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for Just cause (employment law), cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic ten ...

in 1924. As of 1931, she was one of only four woman professors in Italy, and the only one besides

Rina Monti Cesarina Monti, better known as Rina Monti and, sometimes, as Rina Monti Stella (Arcisate, 16 August 1871 – Pavia, 25 January 1937), was an Italian scientist. A biologist, physiologist, limnologist and zoologist, in 1907 she became the first wom ...

to have tenure. Due to her Jewish heritage, Foà was forced to leave her position in academia following the implementation of the

Italian racial laws The Italian racial laws, otherwise referred to as the Racial Laws (), were a series of laws promulgated by the government of Benito Mussolini in Fascist Italy from 1938 to 1944 in order to enforce racial discrimination and segregation in the King ...

of 1938. Foà died on 1 July or 2 July, 1944.

References

19th-century Italian biologists 19th-century Italian women scientists 20th-century Italian biologists 20th-century Italian zoologists 20th-century Italian women scientists Italian entomologists Italian women biologists Jewish Italian scientists Women entomologists 1876 births 1944 deaths Sapienza University of Rome alumni {{Italy-scientist-stub