Marie Maynard Daly (1921–2003) was the first African American woman to obtain a PhD in  chemistry in the United States. She was passionate about increasing the numbers of  minority students in medical school and graduate science programmes. In 1988, to honour her father, she set up a fund for African American science students at Queens College (New  York). This was because her father had to drop out of his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at  Cornell University due to a lack of funds. 

Marie Maynard Daly's early research included studying the effects of cholesterol on the  arteries. Later, she studied how proteins are produced and organised within the cell. 

Daly was designated as a career scientist by the Health Research Council of the City of New York. Daly retired in 1986 from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and in 1988 established a scholarship for African American chemistry and physics majors at Queens College in memory of her father. In 1999, she was recognized by the National Technical Association as one of the top 50 women in Science, Engineering and Technology. Marie Maynard Daly Clark died on October 28, 2003.  

What was special about the work of Maynard Daly?

Marie Maynard Daly is probably best known for her work on atherosclerosis - clogged arteries. By feeding rats high cholesterol diets she and her colleagues discovered a link between high cholesterol, high blood pressure and arterial lesions. Today, this is common knowledge but back in the 1940s this was a groundbreaking discovery.

But she also made a significant contribution to the study of DNA where, in a lab run by Alfred Mirsky, she studied the cell nucleus and what was inside it, i.e. DNA. They were exploring if the building blocks of DNA were the same across all samples.

Why is understanding DNA important?

DNA is essential for providing instructions for life and its processes. The genetic information carried in DNA determines every inherited physical characteristic of every living thing. It controls how the cell replicates and functions and what traits are inherited from previous generations.

Maria Maynard Daly made discoveries that helped us understand what DNA is made of and that the genetic code or 'genome' gets translated into proteins that run our bodies. She helped identify the 'histones' (a protein that provides structural support to a chromosome) and that there were different types of histones in the body. Her discovery around histones is considered fundamental in cell biology.

Check out a little more about DNA on Encyclopaedia Britannica

Following a career like Maria Maynard Daly

Maria Maynard Daly held a PhD in Chemistry - though her research took her into the realms of Biology. Science fosters a particular way of thinking with STEM graduates trained to think critically, research properly and to prioritise evidence over feeling. Science is always changing, and jobs that were unimaginable 20 years ago are now thriving, with so many opportunities available to work in so many diverse areas.

Science graduates might find themselves working on clinical trials, research and development, regulation. In industry, a biologist or a chemist, like Maynard Daly, might find themselves working in the area of medical devices or in one of the many pharmaceutical companies for which Ireland has become associated.

Check out the STEM career investigation on this page.