Pioneers in Radiology: 5 Women Who Changed Everything
On International Women's Day, we honor the achievements of five women who transformed radiology. Thanks to their discoveries, contributions, and inventions, millions of patients can access diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy services. Let us continue working to increase this number and to honor the great physicians and scientists who elevated radiology to new heights.
Irène Joliot-Curie, D.Sc (1897-1956)
Dr. Joliot-Curie’s achievements speak for themselves. In addition to serving as a field radiologist during World War I, she carried on her mother Marie Curie’s legacy in the study of radioactivity. Together with her husband Frédéric, she discovered the existence of radioactive isotopes that could be manufactured at low cost. This breakthrough made imaging and cancer treatments accessible for the first time, earning her the Nobel Prize in 1935. During the ceremony, the committee declared that Dr. Joliot-Curie’s discoveries would lead to “remedies of inestimable value” for all of humanity, and so they did.
Edith Quimby, D.Sc (1891-1982)
Dr. Quimby’s specialty was physics, but her domain was medicine. Her work grew out of a desire to protect both physicians and patients from the harm of X-ray radiation without compromising the quality of treatment. Quimby’s research transformed the landscape of dosimetry and forms the basis of the Memorial system, still used today to calculate radiation doses in brachytherapy. Thanks to her, diagnostic radiology exists as we know it today: effective, advanced, and above all, safe.
Tikvah Alper, M.A. (1909-1995)
Dr. Alper made the invisible visible through radiobiology. During her research on the effects of radiation on cells, she discovered that certain viruses can replicate without being affected by radiation. This revolutionized the field and paved the way for prion theory, which today forms the basis of our understanding of infectious neurodegenerative diseases. Alper was not afraid to question established knowledge and go further to uncover the truth, breaking paradigms and taking radiobiology to another level.
Alice Ettinger, MD (1899-1993)
Dr. Ettinger was a hero in more ways than one. She arrived in the United States from Berlin on what she thought would be a trip of a few weeks, and ended up staying for more than 50 years at Tufts University School of Medicine. She introduced gastrointestinal radiology to the country, pioneered the emerging field of tomography, and gave work to doctors who had fled Germany during the 1930s. Even today, Ettinger has left her mark among colleagues as an extraordinary radiologist who propelled the discipline to new horizons.
Muyinatu Bell, PhD
Dr. Bell is responsible for the most transformative innovations in radiological equipment in recent years. She is the founder and director of the Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Systems Engineering (PULSE) Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. She also led the development of the first Short-Lag Spatial Coherence (SLSC) system for ultrasound, introduced the use of fiber-optic photoacoustic imaging to assist in delicate surgeries, and is a pioneer in combining these tools with minimally invasive robotic surgery. Still active as a researcher, Bell promises to be an essential force in creating new advanced radiology tools.