Notable LGBTQ+ Scientists

By Kavya Gurunath, Edited by Anvitha Mattapalli & Dominique Suniadji, Layout by Aathmika Radhachandran, Art by Nivi Chozhan, & Blogged by Kavya Gurunath

Happy Pride Month! To celebrate Pride Month, this article will cover a couple of LGBTQ+ scientists, who have made incredible discoveries and fought to make the world a better place.

Unsung Heroes

Scientists are the unsung heroes of the world. They dedicate every day of their lives to trying to make the world a better place with their discoveries and experiments. Some scientists, however, didn’t only change the world but changed minds with their activism, open mindedness and courage. In honor of Pride Month, this article will cover the lives and impact of two incredible scientists, both of whom are part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Sara Josephine Baker (1873-1945)

Sara Josephine Baker was a lesbian physician and activist. Her father died of Typhoid fever when she was 16 years old which motivated her to go to medical school. At the time, there weren’t many female doctors, but Baker was determined and confident in her decision.

After college, she joined the New York City’s Department of Health, where she realized the terrible living conditions of people in the city’s slums. She realized that they could prevent many health problems if they increased the hygiene of the people, an idea considered revolutionary at the time. She set up a series of neighborhood health stations to improve hygiene. Immediately, there was a decrease in the number of diseases and sickness and medical needs for children. All 48 states modeled a system of neighborhood health stations after Baker’s example.

She is best known for her discovery of the sources of the Typhoid Mary, which affected many people at the time. Her discovery of the sources allowed treatment and prevention of the disease. Other extraordinary accomplishments of Baker’s include being the first woman to receive a doctorate in public health from New York University School of Medicine and the first director of a children’s public health agency in the United States-the New York Bureau of Child Hygiene. She revolutionized the way we think about medicine, health and hygiene.

Additionally, she also lobbied and publicly spoke for changes to the public health system. She was a leader in the movement for social medicine. She opened the door for female doctors. She battled gender discrimination as well. She was publicly lesbian, and though she didn’t discuss it much, she paved the way for women and lesbians in a male-dominated society.

Ben Barres (1954-2017)

Ben Barres was a transgender neuroscientist and activist. He wanted to be a scientist from a young age. He attended MIT for a biology degree and then a medical degree at Dartmouth College. His work with glial cells, which are cells in the brain, changed the way we think about them. Glial cells were thought to have no function and just took up space. However, through his work, Barres found that glial cells convey various signals to neurons and control the formation of synapses, which are junctions between brain cells. He also discovered a specific type of glial cells, A1 astrocytes, that secrete a toxin that leads to degenerative conditions in the brain. He developed a drug that could inhibit the production of these conditions, and this drug could potentially be used to treat diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's.

Ben, born Barbara, never felt comfortable as a female. At the time, gender dysphoria wasn’t discussed at all. There was a period where he couldn’t sleep while he weighed between transitioning to male or committing suicide. In the end, at 40 years old, he transitioned to male, and his community of scientists was extremely supportive. However, he noticed that he was treated differently. People who didn’t know he was transgender treated him with more respect than he was treated with before he transitioned. This realization caused him to spend much of his life supporting and fighting for women’s rights. He lobbied for the protection of women from sexual harassment in the workplace. He committed to debunking the idea that women are inferior biologically when it comes to scientific ability. He also helped improve representation of women in all fields of science. He is a transgender role model to many. He felt he had to speak openly about being transgender for the LGBTQ+ community.

Courage and Heart

Scientists always leave an impact on the world. However, these two scientists especially changed a lot of lives. They both fought for people they felt deserved more and became role models by paving the way for LGBTQ+ representation in scientific fields. They show that you can change the world not just with your smarts, but with your courage and heart as well.

References

6 Important LGBTQ Scientists Who Left a Mark on STEM Fields. (2021, May 31). Orlando Science Center. https://www.osc.org/important-lgbtq-scientists-who-left-a-mark-on-stem-fields/

Dr. S. Josephine Baker. (2018, August 8). QueerBio. https://queerbio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Dr._S._Josephine_Baker

Freeman, M. (2018, October 22). Ben Barres: neuroscience pioneer, gender champion. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07109-2?error=cookies_not_supported&code=ee442bd3-8b65-4bb2-889a-f3c0287f837f

S. Josephine Baker. (2015, June 3). Changing the Face of Medicine. https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_19.html

Svodoba, E. (2018, November 14). Ben Barres: A transgender scientist shares his story. Spectrum. https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/ben-barres-transgender-scientist-shares-story/

by Nivi Chozhan