The first half of the 20th century was not a super-fun time to be both a scientist and a woman, but Gertrude Elion persevered, and thank god she did. Despite graduating with honours, she was turned down for scholarships because they were all for the dudes. When she eventually got her masters in chemistry she was turned down for countless lab jobs (one of which because she was "too pretty"), and finally landed a job checking frozen fruit for mould. But, when World War II broke out, the masculine scientific world suddenly found itself short of manpower and Elion got her break. She applied for a job as a biochemist under Dr. George Hitchings and was soon collaborating with him in scientific research. Between them, the pair published over 200 papers (with Elion's name listed first, very unusual for the time) and pioneered a new way of developing drugs called "rational drug design". Rather than using the trial and error "shot in the dark and hope you don't die" method that had come before, they would study the biochemistry of pathogens and use that information to tailor drugs to treat them. Using this technique, Gertrude Elion invented a huge range of new drugs, including the first treatment for leukemia; an antimalarial; the first immuno-suppressive agent, used for organ transplants; antibiotics for meningitis, septicemia, and bacterial infections of the urinary and respiratory tracts, just to name a few. She even developed Zovirax, the treatment for viral herpes that you've probably slathered on your cold sores from time to time.
