Leading the Fight Against Tuberculosis and Syphilis
One of the Academy’s earliest Honorary Members helped to advance medicine in the early 20th century and improve overall public health.
Published March 11, 2025
By Nick Fetty
Digital Content Manager
Florence Rena Sabin, an Honorary Member of The New York Academy of Sciences (the Academy), made several significant research contributions to the field of medicine, but her impact extended further, influencing politics and public health.
Sabin was born in the Colorado Territory in 1871. Her mother, a teacher, and her father, an engineer, likely influenced her to have an appreciation for education and STEM. She attended Smith College where she studied zoology, and upon graduation taught high school to earn enough money for medical school.
One of 14 Women in Medical School
Sabin was one of just 14 women when she enrolled in Johns Hopkins Medical School. While medical studies were still in their relative infancy at this time, Sabin’s mentor, Franklin P. Mall, took a unique approach to his teaching and mentoring. He focused less on lecturing, and instead provided “more opportunities for students to learn for themselves through dissections, research, and advice from instructors.”
While in medical school, Sabin created a three-dimensional model of a newborn baby’s brainstem which was the basis for the widely used lab manual, An Atlas of the Medulla and Midbrain. Another significant accomplishment from her medical school days were the findings she uncovered when studying the embryological development of the lymphatic system.
A Woman of Firsts
After completing medical school, a Fellowship was set up in the Department of Anatomy so Sabin could remain at Johns Hopkins. She gravitated toward research and teaching, and eventually landed herself a spot on the faculty, the first woman to do so. She ascended the faculty ranks, and by 1917 she held the title of Professor of Histology, “the first woman to obtain a full professorship in the Johns Hopkins Medical School.”
Sabin continued to advance medicine while on the faculty. Much of her early research examined the lymphatic system. Later, her research focus shifted to blood, blood vessels and blood cells. In 1924 she was elected president of the American Association of Anatomists, and the following year was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the first woman to do so in both instances.
Advancing Public Health
Sabin left Johns Hopkins in 1925 to join the Rockefeller Institute (now The Rockefeller University) in New York City. Her research there focused on tuberculosis, specifically “the role of monocytes in forming tubercles.”
Toward the end of her career, Sabin moved back to her home state of Colorado. She served on various committees and boards focused on improving public health. Through this work, she saw tangible results for her efforts with tuberculosis cases going from 54.7 to 27 per 100,000, while incidence of syphilis decreased from 700 to 60 per 100,000.
She passed away in 1953. In 1959, a bronze statue of Sabin was given to the National Statuary Hall for display in the United States capitol in Washington D.C. Hers is one of two statutes representing the state of Colorado.
Also read: Elsie Clews Parsons – A Social Scientist and Social Critic
This is part of a series of articles featuring past Academy members across all eras.
