Vaccine Innovators Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering
Chapter 1 SOOOOOOOO A nurse sits with a group of sick children who may have whooping cough BECOMING SCIENTISTS d hen Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering were very young they both got sick with whooping cough Whooping cough makes children cough until they are out of breath The disease can be deadly Pearl and Grace were lucky to
A LOVE OF SCIENCE Pearl Kendrick was born on August 24 1890 in Wheaton Illinois Pearl's father was a minister Whenever he moved to a new church Pearl and her family went with him She grew up mostly in New York Pearl was an excellent student When Pearl was a young woman she had questions about evolution Evolution is the idea that living things change and adapt over many generations To find answers to her questions Pearl went to Syracuse University She studied zoology or the science of animals She graduated in 1914 Later Pearl became a teacher and a principal Pearl s first love was science She wanted to learn more So in the summer of 1917 she enrolled at Columbia University Lyman Hall was home to the Syracuse University zoology department E 8 5
A woman operates a tool manufacturing machine at a Massachusetts factory during World War I Women took over jobs in many industries during the war
She studied bacteriology She was hired in 1919 by the New York State Department of Health as a laboratory assistant Now Pearl was working full time as a scientist It was a good time for women to enter science Many men were off fighting in World War I 1914 1918 This left openings for women in new scientific fields In 1920 the head of the Michigan Department of Health hired Kendrick to work at a laboratory in Lansing He promised Kendrick she could advance her career as a scientist He was right In 1926 Kendrick became the head of a state health lab in Grand Rapids Michigan At the lab Kendrick and her coworkers lid tests to study diseases They also tested milk and water for harmful organisms They made sure the liquids were safe for people to drink The state health department believed in education for its workers It gave workers funds and time off to further their studies In 1932 Kendrick earned an advanced degree in bacteriology from Johns Hopkins University It was a Doctor of Science degree Now she was Dr Pearl Kendrick Kendrick continued to work at the state health lab in Grand Rapids There Kendrick met another scientist Together they would create a lifesaving vaccine 7
