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Gertrude Belle Elion (New York, January 23, 1918 - North Carolina, February 21, 1999) was a biochemist and pharmacologist American, who received the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Born in New York City, the daughter of Jewish immigrants, graduated from Hunter College in 1937 and New York University in 1941.

unable to obtain a research position because they are women, worked as a lab assistant and school teacher before becoming an assistant to George H. Hitchings at Burroughs-Wellcome pharmaceutical company (now GlaxoSmithKline). Never received a formal title of doctor, but later was awarded an honorary degree from George Washington University. He taught at Duke University.
Working alone or simultaneously with Hitchings, Elion developed many new drugs, using new and innovative research methods that would later lead to the development of the drug AZT to treat AIDS. Rather than rely on trial and error, Elion and Hitchings used biochemical differences between normal human cells and pathogens (disease-causing agents) to design drugs that could kill or inhibit reproduction of particular pathogens without harming the host cells.
Elion's findings include:
* 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol), the first treatment for leukemia. [1]
* Azathioprine (Imuran), the first immunosuppressive agents used in organ transplantation.
* Allopurinol (Zyloprim) against the drop.
* Pyrimethamine (Daraprim) against malaria.
* Trimethoprim (Septra), effective against bacterial meningitis and some forms of sepsis, and bacterial infections of the urinary and respiratory tract.
* Acyclovir (Zovirax), Herpes virus.
In 1988 Elion received the Nobel Prize together with Hitchings and Sir James Black. Other awards she received are the National Medal of Science (1991) and the Lemelson-MIT Prize for the achievement of a lifetime (1997). In 1991 he became the first woman belonging to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Gertrude Elion died in North Carolina in 1999, at the age of 81. Remained unmarried and had no children.
Source: Wikipedia