Gerty Cori

First woman to win Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for carbohydrate metabolism research

Gerty Theresa Cori (1896-1957) made medical history by discovering the Cori cycle - the process by which glycogen converts to glucose. Her work laid foundation for understanding diabetes treatment and energy metabolism.

Fleeing Nazi Europe, the Coris continued research at Washington University. Despite institutional sexism (Gerty remained associate professor for 13 years), their team:

• Identified enzyme defects causing glycogen storage diseases
• Isolated glucose-1-phosphate ("Cori ester")
• Developed tissue fractionation techniques still used today

The 1947 Nobel Prize recognized their "discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen". Gerty became:

• First American woman Nobel laureate in science
• Third woman overall to win science Nobel
• Pioneer in biochemical genetics

Her legacy lives through Cori crater on Moon and ongoing diabetes research worldwide.