8 women medtech innovators you need to know | Page 4 of 9

3. Rosalyn Sussman Yalow

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Rosalyn Sussman Yalow developed the radioimmunoassay technique. The method was used to study insulin levels in diabetes as well as hormones, vitamins and enzymes, which were previously too small to detect, according to the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

In 1977, Yalow was awarded the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for the development of the radioimmunoassay. The technique involved isolating target antibodies and measuring the radioactivity. Concentrations of the substance being tested like insulin in the blood can then be calculated.

Yalow graduated from Hunter College in 1941 after having studied stenography. Following graduation, she was offered a teaching assistantship in physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She went on to receive her PhD in 1945.