Carolyn Walch Slayman (1937–2016) was an American

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

. She was on the faculty of the

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...

, where she was appointed

Sterling Professor Sterling Professor, the highest academic rank at Yale University, is awarded to a Academic tenure in North America, tenured faculty member considered the best in their field. It is akin to the rank of distinguished professor at other universities. ...

in 1991. On March 11, 1937, she was born in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

. In 1958, she graduated from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

with highest honors in biology and chemistry and was elected to

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. She began graduate school at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

to study biochemistry but transferred to

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

in 1959 where she was the only woman in her class. In 1963, she earned her doctorate in

biochemical genetics Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. Though cells and other microscopic ...

. She was a postdoctoral fellow in membrane biochemistry at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. After a short time stint as an assistant professor at

Case Western Reserve Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case Western Reserve Univ ...

, she joined the Yale departments of microbiology and physiology in 1967. At Yale, she became a pioneer in

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

and a leader on campus. She helped to establish the graduate program in the Department of Human Genetics in 1972 and served as director of graduate studies in genetics from 1972 to 1984. In 1984, she was made Chair of the Department of Genetics, becoming the first woman to head a department in the medical school. Seven years later, she became on the second woman to be named a Sterling Professor. Her appointment was in the Department of Genetics. In 1995, she was appointed deputy dean for academic and scientific affairs of the Yale School of Medicine. As deputy dean, she oversaw academic and scientific affairs at the school with special attention to faculty recruitment and development in addition to the creation and advancement of research programs and core facilities. She served as deputy dean until she died in 2016, and had been affiliated with the School of Medicine for nearly 50 years.

References

1937 births 2016 deaths Yale Sterling Professors American geneticists Rockefeller University alumni Yale School of Medicine faculty American women geneticists 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists Scientists from Maine Academics from Maine American women academics People from Portland, Maine Members of the National Academy of Medicine {{US-biologist-stub