Cornelia "Cora" Mitchell Downs (December 20, 1892 to January 27, 1987) was an American

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

and journalist who completed extensive work in the areas of

immunofluorescence Immunofluorescence (IF) is a light microscopy-based technique that allows detection and localization of a wide variety of target biomolecules within a cell or tissue at a quantitative level. The technique utilizes the binding specificity of anti ...

and

tularemia Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium '' Francisella tularensis''. Symptoms may include fever, skin ulcers, and enlarged lymph nodes. Occasionally, a form that results in pneumonia or a throat ...

research. Downs was born to Lily Louis Campbell Downs and Henry Mitchell Downs, and raised in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

. She remained at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

for much of her educational, teaching, and research careers.

Education

In 1915, Downs completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at the

. She continued her education there to complete a Master of Arts degree in 1920, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in bacteriology in 1924, becoming the first woman to earn a PhD from the University of Kansas. Downs also attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

to complete her Postgraduate degree in 1921.

Career

Downs served as an educator in the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Kansas between 1917 and 1963. She taught at the university as an instructor, assistant professor, and associate professor before being appointed full professorship in 1935. During her time at the University of Kansas, Downs conducted groundbreaking microbiology research surrounding the animal immune responses to tularemia, commonly known as rabbit fever. She is also well known for her work in the development of the fluorescent antibody technique—a diagnostic technique used to identify viruses—by studying methods to simplify the synthesis of the labelling agents used in the procedure. Downs also served as a visiting investigator at the Rockefeller Institute from 1939 to 1940. She ultimately retired in 1963.

Awards and memberships

Downs was recognized in Marquis Who's Who as a prominent instructor in microbiology. She was also recognized as a member of many scientific organizations including the American Society of Pathology and Bacteriology, the

American Association of Immunologists American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, and the

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States that was founded in 1915 in New York City and is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAUP membership inc ...

. Downs was also a Fellow of the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), originally founded as the Lyceum of Natural History in January 1817, is a nonprofit professional society based in New York City, with more than 20,000 members from 100 countries. It is the fourth-oldes ...

and a member of several Greek organizations and honor societies including

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...

Phi Sigma Phi Sigma () is an honor society for students of biological sciences, formed at Ohio State University. History The Phi Sigma honor society was founded on March 17, 1915, at Ohio State University to honor excellence in biological research. In 192 ...

, and

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international collegiate Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity. It was founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. History File:S ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downs, Cornelia Mitchell 1892 births 1987 deaths Scientists from Kansas People from Kansas City, Kansas American microbiologists 20th-century American biologists American women microbiologists University of Kansas alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Kansas faculty American immunologists American women immunologists Place of death missing 20th-century American women academics