Rosalyn Sussman Yalow

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was an American medical physicist who co-developed radioimmunoassay, a sensitive method for measuring substances in blood, and received the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Solomon Berson: An American physician and medical researcher who collaborated with Rosalyn Yalow on radioisotope studies and radioimmunoassay. Their long partnership produced the method recognized by the Nobel Prize.
Radioimmunoassay: A laboratory method that uses radiolabeled molecules and antibody binding to measure tiny quantities of substances. Yalow and Berson developed this assay and demonstrated its power in medical research.
Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital: A New York medical center where Yalow and Berson conducted research on radioisotopes and blood hormones. Their collaboration and the early radioimmunoassay work took shape in its laboratories.
Thyroid-stimulating hormone: A pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones. Sensitive hormone assays helped make blood measurement central to diagnosing thyroid disorders.
1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: The Nobel Prize awarded to Roger Guillemin, Andrew Schally, and Rosalyn Yalow for discoveries concerning peptide hormone production in the brain and radioimmunoassay. Yalow shared the prize for developing radioimmunoassay.
Bernard L. Horecker: An American biochemist who led the laboratory where Yalow began her research career at the Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital. His laboratory provided Yalow’s early setting for research with radioactive tracers.
Competitive binding assay: An assay in which labeled and unlabeled molecules compete for a limited number of binding sites. Radioimmunoassay quantifies an unknown by measuring its competition with a radiolabeled counterpart.
Radioisotope research: Scientific research that uses radioactive isotopes to trace, detect, or quantify substances and processes. Yalow’s medical physics expertise in radioisotopes supplied the tools for the assay.
Human chorionic gonadotropin: A hormone produced during pregnancy that is measured in blood and urine tests. Radioimmunoassay helped establish highly sensitive hormone detection in clinical testing.
Women in science: The history, participation, and social conditions of women working in scientific fields. Yalow’s career and Nobel recognition made her a prominent example amid barriers to women scientists.

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Pregnancy testRelated: Sensitive hormone measurement helped make laboratory hCG testing practical.