Edith Graef McGeer
American neuroscientist (1923–2023)
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Through Alzheimer's disease, Cancer and Mathematics
Education
McGeer, who said that her interest in mathematics began when she was five, skipped grades at the St. Agatha's School for Girls. At 16 years old, she declared a chemistry major at Swarthmore College and was not met with encouragement from the head of the chemistry department, since science wasn't considered a fitting profession for a woman in 1940. Graduating Phi Beta Kappa, McGeer completed her doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Virginia in two years.
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Career accomplishments and awards
McGeer was a research chemist for the DuPont Company and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia where she worked as a research assistant at the University of British Columbia Medical School and eventually received the title of Professor Emeritus. McGeer held 10 patents and contributed to 525 articles and was the recipient of a special award by the British Columbia Science Council for lifetime contribution.
McGeer is identified as one of the top 100 most highly cited neuroscientists. She was jointly appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1995 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2001. She died on August 28, 2023, at the age of 99.