Elise Depew Strang L'Esperance (1878–1958) was an American pathologist and physician, a pioneer in establishing a preventive model of cancer treatment. She was a

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

noted for establishing cancer prevention clinics in New York. She founded two clinics: the Strang Tumor Clinic in 1932 and the Strang Cancer Prevention Clinic in 1937, which operated out of the New York Infirmary. In 1940, L'Esperance opened a second branch of the Strang Cancer Prevention Clinic at the Memorial Center for Cancer and Allied Diseases. During her medical career, L'Esperance published her research prolifically, credited for approximately 30 articles in medical journals.

Early life and education

Elise L'Esperance was born in Yorktown, New York, to Albert Strang, a physician, and Kate Depew Strang. Inspired by her father, she pursued a career in medicine and attended the Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, earning her M.D. there in 1900. Interested in pediatrics, L'Esperance spent a year working at Babies Hospital in New York. She then worked for two years at a private pediatric practice in Detroit, Michigan.

Career

In 1908, she turned to medical research. In 1920, she became professor of pathology at

Cornell University Medical College Weill Cornell Medicine (; officially Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University), originally Cornell University Medical College, is the medical school of Cornell University, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in Ne ...

. In 1948–1949, she was president of the

American Medical Women's Association The American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) is a professional advocacy and educational organization of women physicians and medical students. History The '' Woman's Medical Journal'' began publication in the 1893. As World War I broke out ...

. In 1946, she was the first editor of the ''Journal of the American Medical Women's Association''.

References

American pathologists 1878 births 1959 deaths American women physicians People from Yorktown, New York 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American scientists Recipients of the Lasker–DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award Scientists from New York (state) {{US-physician-stub