Esther Lederberg: A Forgotten Genius
By Mahima Das, Lexington High School
Today, cuisses de grenouille, or frogs legs, are regarded as a French delicacy. The crispy, sauteed legs slathered in a creamy buttermilk sauce offer a stark contrast to the frog’s legs Esther Lederberg ate. Because money was extremely tight, the sliced, slimy frog remnants from student dissections made up most of Lederberg’s meals. As a female teaching assistant at Stanford University, Lederberg was paid a measly salary that barely covered living expenses. Still, it was a job that allowed her to pay for her Masters Degree in Genetics, and for that, she stayed. Although her situation was far from ideal, Lederberg’s dedication to her studies, curiosity, and willingness to challenge social norms make her one of the most brilliant women of the 20th century.
Born as the oldest child to a poor Bronx family, Esther Lederberg was a child during the Great Depression. Her father was born in Sereth, Bukovina– modern-day Romania– and opened a print shop in the Bronx. Lederberg’s school lunches consisted of a single slice of bread with the juice of a tomato squeezed on top. One particular day, as a rare treat, her parents told her that they were going to have steak for dinner. Lederberg had never heard of steak before, and in her excitement, told her friends she was having snake for dinner that night. Steak, which might have been familiar to a middle-class family at the time, was entirely foreign to her. This highlights the adversity Lederberg overcame in order to reach success. Yet, throughout her entire life, Lederberg would never let her financial bearings stop her from achieving who she aspired to be: a strong female scientist and an inspiration for other young women.
Lederberg attended Evander Childs High School and, as a testament to her one-of-a-kind brilliance and intelligence, graduated when she was only sixteen. From there, Lederberg went to Hunter College, where she initially intended to study French or Literature. Yet, much to the horror of her professors, she studied biochemistry instead. Her professors tried to convince her that a woman had no place in the scientific world, but she stuck firmly to her decision. This was the first, but definitely not the last time Lederberg would face an obstacle as a result of her gender. At that time, social norms meant that men would go to work while their wives would stay at home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids. People thought there wasn’t room for women in the workplace, especially in the field of science.
Yet, Lederberg continued to push for roles that females typically didn’t receive. This unrelenting dedication allowed her to take advantage of opportunities that weren’t readily offered to her. She went on to receive a Masters in Genetics from Stanford University and later began working as a research assistant at the Carnegie Institute of Washington. There, she worked with Alexander Hollaender and Milislav Demerec, investigating the genetics of bacteria in order to make penicillin more effective. In 1944, Lederberg published her first paper, one of the few papers for which she received proper credit as a co-author. While working on UV and x-ray mutations in the production of penicillin, she was awarded a fellowship to Stanford University. Two years later, after receiving her Masters, Lederberg married Joshua Lederberg, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, who would later be awarded most of the recognitions Esther Lederberg should have received.
Esther Lederberg believed that her gender had nothing to do with what she could accomplish. Through this mindset, she was also working to dispel the common notion that women weren’t as capable as men. Unfortunately, most of the people in her time disagreed. Her husband, who was three years younger than her and had less experience at the time, founded the Department of Genetics at Stanford University. Esther Lederberg was denied a position in the same department as a female faculty member, as was a female colleague. They were forced to petition a dean of the university and were reluctantly given the position, but only because they agreed to being untenured.
This unfair treatment did not discourage Esther Lederberg from continuing to pursue the science that she loved.
It only meant that she had to work twice as hard to be awarded the same privileges that the men in her field received so easily. Even with all of the hindrances she faced, Esther Lederberg left an indelible mark in the field of microbiology. For one, she was the first individual to isolate the bacterial virus lambda phage. The specific cycles of lambda phage have been crucial for scientists to gain insight into gene transcription. Additionally, her observations of the bacteriophage in agar solution led to an understanding of specialized transduction, a process in which DNA is introduced into a cell through a virus.
Another one of Lederberg’s discoveries was replica plating. While there were many existing ways to reproduce bacterial colonies, she found the most efficient method. Interestingly enough, it came from a very simple, but ingenious idea. Lederberg used a simple velveteen fabric to duplicate bacteria. She was very particular in the fabric she used, specifying a certain type of Italian velveteen, as well as the best detergent to wash the fabric. From this discovery, she and her husband were able to prove the origins of mutants with key adaptive advantages. This exact method of replica plating is used in labs even today, another example of how influential her contributions are. Around the same time, Esther Lederberg made yet another significant discovery. She recognized the bacterial fertility factor (factor F) and its role in DNA replication. This proved to be essential in our understanding of how bacteria transfer genetic material.
In the academic world, working with Joshua Lederberg was both a blessing and a curse for Esther Lederberg. Accessing labs through her husband opened doors that made many of her discoveries possible. As he was a senior researcher and professor, he had access to equipment that Esther Lederberg, as a woman, was not able to use. But that was where the benefits stopped. As long as she was Mrs. Lederberg, Esther’s success in science would be credited to her husband. Many of the papers they co-authored were published solely under Joshua Lederberg’s name. And, in the few papers in which Esther was credited for her work, Esther Lederberg’s name was listed as the secondary author and her husband listed as the primary author.
She lived in an environment where women were expected to live in the shadow of their husbands.
Even Joshua Lederberg did not give Esther Lederberg the acknowledgment she deserved. When Joshua Lederberg won the Nobel Prize for the work he and his wife had done together, including replica plating as well the bacterial fertility factor F, her name was not mentioned once in the prize. Joshua Lederberg admitted that his wife did deserve recognition for her contributions: yet he did not include her in any of his acceptance speeches. This unjust treatment would continue throughout all of Esther Lederberg’s career. Frequently, credit for her brilliant ideas was taken by the men she worked with.
Bibliography
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“Esther Lederberg.” Notable Women Scientists, Gale, 2009. Science in Context, http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?gwurl=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1668000236/SCIC?u=mlin_m_lexhigh&xid=64ffb734. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.
Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg Memorial Website. www.esthermlederberg.com. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.
Kaushik, K., and K. Kapila. “Women in medical microbiology: Reflections on contributions.” Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, Oct.-Dec. 2009, p. 285. General OneFile, http%3A%2F%2Flink.galegroup.com%2Fapps%2Fdoc%2FA208077339%2FGPS%3Fu%3Dmlin_m_lexhigh%26sid%3DGPS%26xid%3Debdfa3af. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.
“Miriam Esther Lederberg.” What Is Biotechnology, www.whatisbiotechnology.org/index.php/people/summary/Lederberg_Esther. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.
Piqueras, Mercé. “Esther Lederberg, Pioneer of Bacterial Genetics.” Small Things Considered, American Society for Microbiology, 28 July 2014, schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2014/07/esther-lederberg-pioneer-of-bacterial-genetics.html. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.
Richmond, Caroline. “Esther Lederberg.” The Guardian, 12 Dec. 2006, www.theguardian.com/science/2006/dec/13/obituaries.guardianobituaries. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.
