NSF Award
9012990
Dr. Diamond is writing a biography of Charlotte Friend, a distinguished pioneer in the study of viral oncology and cell differentiation. Friend made two seminal discoveries that had a major impact on our understanding of the cancer process. At a time when the concept that viruses could cause cancer was still viewed with skepticism, she isolated a virus that produced a fatal leukemia in mice. She later showed that tumor cells such as those induced by her virus could be stimulated to differentiate into normal cells and lose their potential to divide. This study is being made within the scientific, intellectual and social contexts of Dr. Friend's time. Among the themes being examined by Dr. Diamond are the influence of Friend's discoveries on modern cancer research, the challenge and joy of discovery, the struggle to have one's unorthodox observations accepted, and the importance in this struggle for acceptance of having strong personal and institutional support. Another theme of significance for this story is that of women's conflict between family life and a life in science. All of these developments are framed by the "molecular revolution" and the cognitive/technical development of Friend's research within the changing intellectual landscape of biomedicine in the DNA era. This biography should be of interest to scientists, historians and laymen and an inspiration to young men and women who aspire to an exciting life in science.
