Elizabeth Bugie

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Elizabeth Bugie
Elizabeth Gregory.jpg
Gregory in the lab
Born(1920-10-05)October 5, 1920
DiedApril 10, 2001(2001-04-10) (aged 80)
Alma materRutgers University
New Jersey College for Women
Known forStreptomycin
Scientific career
ThesisProduction of antibiotic substances by Aspergillus flavus and Chaetomium cochliodes (1944)
Doctoral advisorSelman Waksman

Elizabeth Bugie Gregory (October 5, 1920 – April 10, 2001) was an American biochemist who identified Streptomycin, an antibiotic that was active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. She worked in a laboratory for a man named Selman Waksman at Rutgers University.[1] Selman Waksman went on to win the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1952 and took the credit for the discovery.

Early life[]

Bugie's father, Charles Bugie, never studied beyond high school, and was committed to her education.[1] He encouraged Elizabeth Bugie explore her curiosities, prompting her be very analytical and strong willed.[2] Her mother was Madeline Turbett. Bugie studied microbiology at the New Jersey College for Women.[1] She was a Masters student at Rutgers University, working with Selman Waksman.[1] She developed several antimicrobial substances.[3][4] Her Masters thesis, Production of antibiotic substances by aspergillus flavus and chaetomium cochliodes, looked to optimise the production of and chaetomin.[5]

Career[]

Bugie worked on antimicrobials that could protect plants from Dutch elm disease.[6] In 1944 Bugie, Waksman and Schatz identified streptomycin in cultures of soil organisms, an antibiotic which was found to be active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.[7][8] Bugie was told that it was not important for her name to be on the patent as she would "one day get married and have a family".[1][9] Selman Waksman went on to win the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1952 and took all the credit for the discovery.[1] Waksman claimed that Bugie was more involved in the discovery than Albert Schatz.[10] Waksman also wrote articles about his discovery, rarely mentioning help he had received[1].[11] Bugie was eventually awarded 0.2% of the royalties for streptomycin.[12] After the discovery of streptomycin, Bugie worked on micromonosporin, a pigmented glycoprotein that was active against gram-positive bacteria.[13] Bugie worked for Merck & Co., evaluating pyrazinoic acid and penicillin as antibiotics against mycobacterium tuberculosis.[14]

After graduating, Bugie got married to Francis Joseph Gregory, who also worked as a microbiologist in the Waksman lab.[1] Bugie eventually returned to academia to get a degree in library science after raising her family.[15] Bugie's daughter, , is a microbiologist at Rollins College.[1] Bugie died on April 10, 2001.[16]

History of Streptomycin[]

Streptomycin has an interesting history with many people who play a part in the discovery of it. Three people who play a large role are Selman Waksman, Albert Shatz, and Elizabeth Bugie (later known as Elizabeth Gregory). These three colleagues worked closely together to ultimately, as a group, discover streptomycin. The only thing that made their discovery unfair was the recognition in comparison to the contribution by all three. Waksman got the most recognition, known as the father of antibiotics.

When looking at the contributions made to the study and discovery of Streptomycin, Bugie has clearly made just as much of an impact, if not more than Shatz has.[17] We see the uneven distribution of this through the amount of compensation that each contributor gets after the discovery. Schatz sued Waksman in order to get royalties,[1] but when they each got their share, the distribution was off. Waksman got 10%, Schatz got 3%, and all of the other members of the lab shared the last 7%, in which Bugie for 0.2% [18] We also learn that when the patent was created, both Waksman and Shatz did not include Bugie’s name on it, claiming that it wouldn’t matter for her because someday she will be married and have kids.[19] When the patent was originally signed, Elizabeth Bugie also signed an affidavit.[20] In this affidavit, Bugie had stated that she was informed about streptomycin from Dr. Waksman and Albert Shatz and had no part in the discovery of streptomycin.[20] Bugie was however later quoted by her daughters as having said that if the women's liberation movement had been present, that she then would have received credit towards the patent on streptomycin.[1] When hearing about Bugie and her impact, we learn that Shatz explained “the fact that Waksman asked her to do the work was a testimonial to her talents and competence”[21] This shows how much of an impact she actually made, and how little she was compensated for it.

The most notable trait that makes Bugie stand out in comparison to her peers in the discovery of Streptomycin would be her heart behind why she practiced medicine. Her daughter explains that her mom “did research not for notoriety but for love of science”.[21] This shows that she didn’t necessarily need to be recognized but just wanted to help people in any way she can.

References[22][17][19][21][]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Angelova, Lidiya. "Elizabeth Bugie – the invisible woman in the discovery of streptomycin". Scientista | Women in STEM. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  2. ^ "Obiturary: Elizabeth Gregory / Did McCandless woman get fair shake for role in discovery of streptomycin?". old.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  3. ^ Waksman, Selman A.; Bugie, Elizabeth (September 1943). "Strain Specificity and Production of Antibiotic Substances". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 29 (9): 282–288. doi:10.1073/pnas.29.9.282. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1078613. PMID 16578091.
  4. ^ Waksman, S. A.; Bugie, E. (November 1944). "Chaetomin, a New Antibiotic Substance Produced by Chaetomium cochliodes: I. Formation and Properties". Journal of Bacteriology. 48 (5): 527–530. doi:10.1128/jb.48.5.527-530.1944. ISSN 0021-9193. PMC 374002. PMID 16560863.
  5. ^ Production of antibiotic substances by aspergillus flavus and chaetomium cochliodes.
  6. ^ Waksman, Selman A.; Bugie, Elizabeth (1943-10-01). "Action of Antibiotic Substances Upon Ceratostotnella ulmi". Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. 54 (1): 79–82. doi:10.3181/00379727-54-14310. ISSN 0037-9727. S2CID 87534513.
  7. ^ "History of medicine - Medicine in the 20th century". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  8. ^ Schatz, Albert; Bugle, Elizabeth; Waksman, Selman A. (1944-01-01). "Streptomycin, a Substance Exhibiting Antibiotic Activity Against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria". Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. 55 (1): 66–69. doi:10.3181/00379727-55-14461. ISSN 0037-9727. S2CID 33680180.
  9. ^ "Elizabeth (Bugie) Gregory - published landmark article in 1944 - Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  10. ^ "Selman Waksman and Antibiotics - Landmark - American Chemical Society". American Chemical Society. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  11. ^ "Streptomycin — arrogance and anger". Pharmaceutical Journal. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  12. ^ "Their Dispute Over Discovery of Streptomycin Is Settled". www.albertschatzphd.com. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  13. ^ Waksman, Selman A.; Geiger, Walton B.; Bugie, Elizabeth (1 March 1947). "Micromonosporin, an Antibiotic Substance from a Little-known Group of Microorganisms". Journal of Bacteriology. 53 (3): 355–357. doi:10.1128/JB.53.3.355-357.1947. ISSN 0021-9193. PMC 518315. PMID 16561279. Wikidata Q40037245.
  14. ^ Eveleigh, Douglas E.; Bennett, Joan W. (2018-05-01). Women Microbiologists at Rutgers in the Early Golden Age of Antibiotics. doi:10.1128/9781555819545. ISBN 9781555819538.
  15. ^ Angelova, Lidiya. "Elizabeth Bugie – the invisible woman in the discovery of streptomycin". Scientista | Women in STEM. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  16. ^ Snowbeck, Christopher (April 14, 2001). "Obiturary: Elizabeth Gregory / Did McCandless woman get fair shake for role in discovery of streptomycin?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Selman Waksman and Antibiotics - Landmark". American Chemical Society. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  18. ^ "Obiturary: Elizabeth Gregory / Did McCandless woman get fair shake for role in discovery of streptomycin?". old.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  19. ^ a b "The Forgotten Women of the Antibiotics Race". Lady Science. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  20. ^ a b Wainwright, Milton (1991). "Streptomycin: Discovery and Resultant Controversy". History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences. 13 (1): 97–124. ISSN 0391-9714.
  21. ^ a b c "Obiturary: Elizabeth Gregory / Did McCandless woman get fair shake for role in discovery of streptomycin?". old.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  22. ^ dx.doi.org http://dx.doi.org/10.17658/issn.2058-5462/issue-21/sbochicchio/p11. Retrieved 2021-12-04. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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