Â鶹APP

A portrait of Rosalyn Yalow Photo sourced from

Top 10 Facts about Rosalyn Yalow

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, born on 19th July 1921 was an American medical physicist, and a Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine which she won for her development of the radioimmunoassay technique. She was the second woman in the world, and the first American-born woman, to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. 

Her achievements and contribution to the health industry will always be remembered and she is among the women who have changed the world in one way or another. Let’s take a look at some of the top facts about her;

1. She was born to a Jewish family in the Bronx, New York City

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was born in the Bronx, New York, to Clara (née Zipper) and Simon Sussman, and was raised in a Jewish household. Her mother, née Clara Zipper, was a Germany immigrant who came to America at the age of four while her father, Simon Sussman, was born on the Lower East Side of New York, the Melting Pot for Eastern European immigrants.

Neither of her parents had the advantage of a high school education but there was never a doubt that their two children would make it through college. The couple were so determined to give their children the best education which they were not able to get during their time growing up.

2.Yallow went to Walton High School and is also a graduate of the Hunters college

A portrait of Rosalyn Yalow Photo sourced from

Yallow went to Walton High School (Bronx), New York City. After high school, she attended the all-female, tuition-free Hunter College, where her mother hoped she would learn to become a teacher. Instead, Yalow decided to study physics. She graduated from Hunters college in January 1941.

She also studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,where she was the only woman among the department’s 400 members, and the first since 1917.  Yalow later earned her PhD in 1945. The next summer, she took two tuition-free physics courses under government auspices at New York University. 

3.She became the first woman since 1917 to attend or teach at the University of Illinois

She became the first woman since 1917 to attend or teach at the University of Illinois, when she entered the university in September 1941, and was the only woman in the faculty, which comprised 400 professors and teaching assistants. Yalow credited her position at the prestigious graduate school to the shortage of male candidates during World War II.

Being surrounded by gifted men made her aware of a wider world in science and she soon changed their perspective when she made them recognize her talent, and they encouraged and supported her. They were in a position to help her succeed in a male dominated field, this is because she had proved to the world to change their minds about women. 

Read more about her in 10 Famous Female Doctors That Made an Impact

4.Yallow collaborated with Solomon Berson to develop radioimmunoassay

Yallow collaborated with Solomon Berson to develop radioimmunoassay, a radioisotope tracing technique that allows the  measurement of tiny quantities of various biological substances in human blood as well as a multitude of other aqueous fluids.

Originally used to study insulin levels in diabetes mellitus, the technique has since been applied to hundreds of other substances – including hormones, vitamins and enzymes – all which had been present in quantities or concentrations that were previously too small to detect.

5.She influenced and became a mentor to many scientists from across the world

A photo of Rosalyn Yalow Photo sourced from

Through her work and research, Yallow influenced and became a mentor to many scientists from across the world. A good example is Dr. Narayana Panicker Kochupillai, went on to become a leading endocrinology researcher in India, studying thyroid hormones and iodine deficiency.

In this way, Yalow’s legacy in endocrinology was carried on. A fitting title for Rosalyn Yalow may well be “the Mother of Endocrinology.”She earned this title because of the effort and time she put in the research of endocrinology and because she was one if the first few people to do a proper research on endocrinology. 

6.She won several scholarships from the government to engage and learn from other scientists 

During her career as a scientist, Yallow won several scholarships fully sponsored by the US government to engage and learn from other scientists.These scholarships include; a Fulbright fellowship to Portugal, which is an American scholarship program of competitive, merit-based grants that sponsor participants for exchanges in all areas of endeavor, including the sciences, business, academe, public service, government, and the arts.

 Yalow also won the Eli Lilly Award of the American Diabetes Association, which provides scholarships for up to 100 scholars to attend Scientific Sessions, the world’s largest scientific and medical conference focused on diabetes and its complications. It also provides the education and training for these scholars to serve as faculty for professional education programs and to clinically manage the disease.

7.Yallow also won several awards in her career

A postcard honoring Rosalyn Sussman Yalow Photo sourced from

Yallow also won several awards in her career including the Gairdner Foundation International Award, the American College of Physicians Award, the William S. Middleton Award for Excellence in Research, the Koch Award of the Endocrine Society,the American Medical Association Scientific Achievement Award which she was given together with Berson (who had died in 1972). 

Yalow also received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, she was also awarded the A. Cressy Morrison Award in Natural Sciences of the New York Academy of Sciences, which is offered by Mr. Abraham Cressy Morrison, and also received the National Medal of Science, which is given to American individuals who deserve the highest honor in science and technology.

Read more about people who have won the Golden plate here

8.Yalow won a noble prize and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame

Yallow became the first American-born woman, to win the Nobel Prize in a scientific field. She was also the second woman in the world to win in the physiology or medicine category. Yalow was honored with the Noble Prize for her role in devising the radioimmunoassay technique, along with Roger Guillemin and Andrew V. Schally for their research in another field.

By measuring substances in the human body, the screening of the blood of donors for such diseases as hepatitis was made possible. Yalow was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame which she was inducted into in 1993, becoming one of the very few women in the world to be inducted then. 

9.She was married to Aaron Yalow and they were blessed with two children

Yallow was married to fellow student Aaron Yalow, the son of a rabbi, in June 1943 and  they were blessed with two children, a boy and a girl namely Benjamin and Elanna Yalow respectively. Yalow did not believe in “balancing her career with her home life” and instead incorporated her home life wherever she could in her work life.

However, she viewed the traditional roles of a homemaker as a priority, and devoted herself to traditional duties associated with motherhood and being a wife.Her family always came fast before everything she did in life and was always there for children and husband whenever they needed her. 

10.Yallow died aged 89 in 2011 in her home in the Bronx, New York City

Yalow died May 30, 2011, in the Bronx, New York, she died after having suffering recurrent strokes and a prolonged period of decline which was part of her later life. She had suffered for a long time but a final one finally took her life. She was 89 when she finally died. 

She was left behind her beloved husband, and was survived by her two children, Benjamin and Elanna, and two grandchildren. She was buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Fairview, New Jersey in a ceremony attended bY her family and friends.