African American Scientist Spotlight

Alice Augusta Ball was an African American chemist who made significant contributions to the development of a treatment for leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, in the early 20th century. She was born on July 24, 1892, in Seattle, Washington, and was the daughter of James P. Ball, Jr., the first Black person to graduate from the University of Washington.

Ball pursued her education at the University of Washington, where she earned a bachelor's degree in pharmaceutical chemistry in 1912 and a master's degree in chemistry in 1914. She was the first woman and first African American to graduate with a master's degree from the University of Hawaii, where she conducted groundbreaking research on the treatment of leprosy.

Ball's most notable achievement was the development of a more effective treatment for leprosy. She discovered a method to isolate the ethyl ester of chaulmoogra oil, which was used traditionally in treating the disease but was not easily absorbed by the body. Ball's method involved creating a water-soluble form of the oil by modifying its chemical structure. This innovation made the treatment more accessible and effective for patients suffering from leprosy.

Unfortunately, Alice Augusta Ball's promising career was cut short when she died at the young age of 24 on December 31, 1916, due to unknown causes. Despite her untimely death, her research laid the groundwork for improved treatments for leprosy and paved the way for advancements in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry.

Today, Alice Augusta Ball is recognized for her pioneering work in chemistry and her significant contribution to the treatment of leprosy. In 2020, the University of Hawaii unveiled a bronze statue of Ball on its campus to honor her legacy and contributions to science and medicine.

References:

1. "Alice Ball." National Institutes of Health: U.S. National Library of Medicine - Changing the Face of Medicine. https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_19.html

2. "Alice Augusta Ball: The Woman Who Cured Leprosy." Chemical Heritage Foundation. https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/alice-augusta-ball 

Applications are open for the 2024 Graduate Student Research Awards from the Department of Energy! Perform Graduate Theses Research at U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories!

From The Department of Energy Office of Science's webpage:

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science is pleased to announce that the Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program is now accepting applications for the 2024 solicitation 1 cycle. Applications are due on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. ET.

SCGSR application assistance workshops will be held on March 7, 2024, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m. ET and April 18, 2024, 2:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. ET. The first workshop will provide a general overview of the program and the application requirements. It will also include a time for attendees to discuss their potential research topics and their alignment with the SCGSR priority areas with managers of each participating program office; register here. The second workshop will guide attendees through the application process, answer general questions, provide guidance on proposal writing, and feature discussions with scientists and former awardees; register here.

The SCGSR program provides supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to conduct part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE national laboratory or facility in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist. The goal of the program is to prepare graduate students for scientific and technical careers critically important to the mission of DOE’s Office of Science. The research opportunity is expected to advance the graduate students’ overall graduate theses while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the host DOE laboratories.

SCGSR is open to U.S. Ph.D. students in qualified graduate programs at accredited U.S. academic institutions, who are conducting their graduate thesis research in targeted areas relevant to DOE’s Office of Science. Since its inception in 2014, the SCGSR program has provided support to over 1,066 graduate awardees from 161 U.S. universities to conduct thesis research at all 17 DOE national laboratories across the nation.

The SCGSR program is sponsored and managed by the Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists, in collaboration with the Office of Science’s six research programs offices and two research and development and production offices, and with DOE national laboratories/facilities. Program administration support is provided by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

More information on the SCGSR program can be found by visiting the SCGSR program website, attending the program’s virtual office hours which are held every Tuesday between 4:00–5:00 p.m. ET via this Zoom link, or by emailing the SCGSR team.

Summer 2024 research opportunity for high school students interested in microbiology!