Many of us will recall being regaled with tales and pictures of famous physicians of old in medical school lectures. But how many of those iconic figures were women - or from any other under-represented groups, for that matter?
Of course, it's not that such role-models don’t exist – it’s just that their portraits are not hanging on the walls of Royal Colleges, or lining the corridors of national academies, and they are too often forgotten.
As medical educators, we can redress the balance.
Below we have compiled a list of just a few female pioneers in medicine and medical science who you may wish to feature in your teaching, to ensure that the diversity of experts our students hear about properly reflects the diversity of those who have contributed to global health - and of our students themselves.
Read MWF’s blog on this subject here.
Dr Ameyo Adadevo:
Resources: Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh - DRASA
Educational themes: Ebola, global health; tropical infections; infection prevention and control
Dr Hattie Alexander:
Resources: Biography - Dr. Hattie Elizabeth Alexander
Hattie Elizabeth Alexander | Pediatrician, Microbiologist, Immunologist | Britannica
Educational themes: Haemophilus influenza meningitis, paediatrics, pioneer in microbial genetics
Dr Viginia Apgar:
Resources: Virginia Apgar (1909-1974): The Mother of Neonatal Resuscitation - PMC
Virginia Apgar, MD, MPH | Johns Hopkins | Bloomberg School of Public Health
Educational themes: APGAR score, Neonatalogy.
Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi PhD:
Resources: FRANÇOISE BARRÉ-SINOUSSI - NobelPrize.org
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi – Facts - NobelPrize.org
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi | Biography | Research Starters | EBSCO Research.
Educational themes: Virology. HIV. AIDS.
Dr Patricia Era Bath:
Resources: Patricia Era Bath, MD | Department of Medicine | University of Illinois College of Medicine
Biography - Dr. Patricia E. Bath
Educational themes: Lasephaco Probe for cataract surgery, Ophthalmology in the community, restoring sight in communities suffering deprivation, addressing medical inequality.
Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier and Professor Jennifer Doudna:
Resources: Jennifer A. Doudna – Facts – 2020 - NobelPrize.org
Emmanuelle Charpentier – Facts – 2020 - NobelPrize.org
Educational themes: CRISP CAS-9, Genome editing, Ethics of genetic editing.
Dr Myrtelle May Canavan:
Resources: Myrtelle Canavan - Wikipedia
Educational themes: Canavan’s disease, Degenerative CNS disorders
Marie Curie:
Resources: Marie Sklodowska Curie | Science History Institute
Educational themes: Radioactivity, X-Rays
Rosalind Franklin PhD:
Resources: Rosalind Franklin's Life - Rosalind Franklin Institute
Dr. Rosalind Franklin - Rosalind Franklin University
Educational themes: Crystallography, DNA structure
Dr Helen Murray Free:
Resources: Helen Free - American Chemical Society
Free Helen Murray | Women of the Hall
Educational themes: inventor of chemical urine test strips
Dr Marylin Hughes Gaston:
Resources: Biography - Dr. Marilyn Hughes Gaston
Black History Month 2026: Dr. Marilyn Hughes Gaston - SCDAA .
Educational themes: neonatal screening programmes, Sickle Cell disease, penicillin prophylaxis, tackling health inequality.
Patricia Goldman-Rakic PhD:
Resources: Patricia Goldman-Rakic: A Pioneer in Cognitive Neuroscience - PMC
Educational themes: Prefrontal Cortex, Working memory, Neural circuitry and its impact on psychiatric disorders.
Judith Graham Pool PhD:
Resources: Judith Pool, biochemist at Stanford and co-president of AWIS.
Educational themes: Haemophilia, Clotting factors, blood donation, Cryoprecipitate.
Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi:
Resources: Mary Putnam Jacobi | National Women's History Museum.
Educational themes: Menstruation, Women's health, early research and evidence-based medicine.
Professor Mary-Claire King PhD:
Resources: Mary-Claire King - Wikipedia
Educational themes: BRCA1 gene, breast cancer, human genetics
Florence Seibert PhD:
Resources: Florence Seibert | Bacteriologist, Immunologist, Biochemist | Britannica
Female Pioneers: Meet the Biochemist Who Tackled One of TB’s Great Mysteries | Pfizer
Educational themes: Tuberculin test, IV drug safety and water distillation.
Dr Helen Taussig:
Educational themes: Paediatric cardiology, cardiac surgery
Dr Ozlem Tureci:
Ozlem Türeci's research works | Uppsala University Hospital and other places.
Educational themes: mRNA Immunotherapies in cancer, mRNA Covid-Vaccinations.
Dr Jane Wright:
Resources: The story of Dr Jane C Wright, pioneer of blood cancer research | Blood Cancer UK
Dr. Jane C. Wright (1919-2013): The Architect of Modern Chemotherapy and Clinical Oncology - PMC
Educational themes: Methotrexate, Oncology, cancer chemotherapy
Flossie Wong-Staal PhD:
Resources: In Memoriam: Flossie Wong-Staal, Ph.D. | Center for Cancer Research
Wong-Staal, Flossie | Women of the Hall Educational themes: HIV. AIDS, HTLV role in Cancer
Professor Tu YouYou:
Resources: Tu Youyou – Facts - NobelPrize.org
Educational themes: malaria; artemisinin, traditional Chinese medicines
List compiled by Erin Thomas, MWF student rep for North Wales Medical School and Angharad Davies, MWF Vice-President.
We warmly welcome suggestions for additions to this resource. Please contact MWF so they can be considered for inclusion.
