Mildred Rebstock

Mildred Catherine Rebstock
Born (1919-11-29)November 29, 1919
Elkhart, Indiana
Died February 17, 2011(2011-02-17) (aged 91)
Ann Arbor
Nationality American
Alma mater North Central College,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Scientific career
Fields Chemistry

Mildred Catherine Rebstock (November 29, 1919 – February 17, 2011) was an American chemist. She was a member of the team that made an antibiotic using chemical synthesis for the first time; prior to that they were isolated from micro-organisms. The antibiotic was chloromycetin.

Life

Mildred Catherine Rebstock was born Nov. 29, 1919, in Elkhart, Indiana, the daughter of Redna and Adolph Rebstock, and graduated from Elkhart High School, in 1938. She graduated from North Central College, and then went on to pursue graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she graduated with a PhD.[1] While in North Central, she was also involved with the zoology club and Beta Beta Beta, the biology honors society. She studied under I.A. Koten, professor of chemistry, and Harold Eigenbrodt, professor of zoology. She maintained a perfect grade-point average while majoring in chemistry and zoology. Both professors had earned their doctoral degrees at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Rebstock was inspired to apply there for graduate work. She received a full fellowship and researched ascorbic acid while at the university.[2]

She worked for Parke-Davis Research Labs-chemistry department from 1945-77. In 1945, she was a junior research chemist and then a senior research chemist.[3] She was a member of the team at the company that identified the structure and worked out a method to synthesize chloramphenicol, an antibiotic that had been isolated from Streptomyces venezuelae in 1947.[4]:26 They published their work in 1949; this was the first time an antibiotic had been made instead of being extracted from a micro-organism.[4]:26[1][5][6] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system.[7]

Mildred Rebstock and Eugene H. Payne. Payne had run the first clinical trials with chloromycetin.[8]

Time magazine in 1949 ran her photo with an article about the discovery, noting that "the achievement was due to teamwork. But a large part of the credit goes to pretty Dr. Mildred Rebstock, a 28-year-old research chemist. She chose the field because ‘I just liked that sort of thing better than some others.’"[2] In an interview recorded by the Smithsonian Institution Archives, Rebstock said that in 1950 only about 3 percent of people in scientific research were women. But she had hope for the future.[1] For her achievements, Rebstock was praised by President Harry Truman in 1950 when she was lauded by the Women's National Press Club for outstanding achievement in science. She was awarded the title of "The Woman of the Year in Science" by the organization.[9]

Rebstock spent her entire professional career doing pharmaceutical research, initially with antibiotics and later researched the synthesis of blood-lipid agents and fertility drugs. She died February 17, 2011, in Ann Arbor.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Margaret Ramirez (March 1, 2011). "Mildred C. Rebstock, 1919-2011". Chicago Tribune.
  2. 1 2 "A Legacy of Science - Mildred Rebstock". North Central College. Fall 2009. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Mildred Rebstock". North Central College. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 Pongs, O. (1979). "Chapter 3: Chloramphenicol". In Hahn, eFred E. Mechanism of Action of Antibacterial Agents. Antibiotics Volume V Part 1. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 26–42. ISBN 978-3-642-46403-4.
  5. ↑ Rebstock, Mildred C.; Crooks, Harry M.; Controulis, John.; Bartz, Quentin R. (July 1949). "Chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin).IV.Chemical Studies". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 71 (7): 2458–2462. doi:10.1021/ja01175a065.
  6. ↑ Controulis, John.; Rebstock, Mildred C.; Crooks, Harry M. (July 1949). "Chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin). V. Synthesis". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 71 (7): 2463–2468. doi:10.1021/ja01175a066.
  7. ↑ "WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (19th List)" (PDF). World Health Organization. April 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "Acc. 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s". Smithsonian Institution Archives. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Obituary: Mildred Catherine Rebstock". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved 10 April 2018.


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