Gladys Athena Sperling (July 25, 1904 – January 17, 2003) was an American bacteriologist and nutrition researcher at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

from the 1930s into the 1970s.

Early life and education

Sperling was born in

Pulaski, New York Pulaski () is a village in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 2,365 at the 2010 census. The village is within the town of Richland, and lies between the eastern shore of Lake Ontario and the Tug Hill region. The villag ...

, the daughter of Andrew J. Sperling and Stella J. Pratt Sperling. She earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1928, and completed a master's degree in bacteriology at Cornell University in 1936, with a thesis titled "The Rate of Growth and Gas Production by Escherichia-aerobacter Organisms in Media of Different Compositions".

Career

Sperling worked at Cornell with Clive McCay in nutrition research, from the 1930s into the 1960s. Much of their work involved experimental studies of nutritional interventions on the growth and aging of rats. She spoke to community groups about nutrition, and was active in the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

. She retired from the Animal Sciences department at Cornell in 1970. In retirement, she participated in local theatre and other community programs in

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

Publications

Sperling co-authored dozens of scientific papers published in academic journals, including ''

The Journal of Nutrition ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

,'' '' Archives of Biochemistry,'' '' Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine,'' '' The Journal of Gerontology,'' and ''Gerontologia.'' * "Chemical and Pathological Changes in Aging and after Retarded Growth: Four Figures" (1939, with C. M. McCay, G. H. Ellis, L. L. Barnes, and C. A. H. Smith) * "The influence of age and rate of breeding upon the ability of the female rat to reproduce and raise young" (1941, with S. A. Asdell and R. Bogart) * "Nutritional Requirements during the Latter Half of Life: One Figure" (1941, with Clive M. McCay, L. A. Maynard, and Harlow S. Osgood) * "The physiology of

lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The process ...

" (1942, with L. A. Maynard, Clive M. McCay, J. K. Loosli, F. Lingenfelter, and B. Barrentine) * "Growth, ageing, chronic diseases, and life span in rats" (1943, with Clive M. McCay and L. L. Barnes)McCay, Clive M., Gladys Sperling, and Leroy L. Barnes
"Growth, ageing, chronic diseases, and life span in rats"
''Archives of Biochemistry'' (1943): 469–479. * "Growth Retardation and Corneal Vascularization with

Tyrosine -Tyrosine or tyrosine (symbol Tyr or Y) or 4-hydroxyphenylalanine is one of the 20 standard amino acids that are used by cells to synthesize proteins. It is a conditionally essential amino acid with a polar side group. The word "tyrosine" is ...

and

Phenylalanine Phenylalanine (symbol Phe or F) is an essential α-amino acid with the chemical formula, formula . It can be viewed as a benzyl group substituent, substituted for the methyl group of alanine, or a phenyl group in place of a terminal hydrogen of ...

in a Purified Diet" (1946, with C. F. Niven and Mary R. Washburn) * "The Effect of Coffee, Human Diets, and Inheritance upon the Life Span of Rats" (1946, with J. K. Loosli, L. L. Barnes, and Clive M. McCay) * "A Study of the Pathogenesis of Chronic Pulmonary Disease (

Bronchiectasis Bronchiectasis is a disease in which there is permanent enlargement of parts of the bronchi, airways of the lung. Symptoms typically include a chronic cough with sputum, mucus production. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, hemoptysis, co ...

) of Old Rats" (1946, with John A. Saxton Jr. and Leroy L. Barnes) * "Bone Growth in Normal and Retarded Growth Rats" (1947, with Leroy L. Barnes and Clive M. McCay) * "Age changes in relation to the ingestion of milk, water, coffee, and sugar solutions" (1952, with Clive M. McCay, F. Lovelace, L. L. Barnes, C. H. Liu, C. A. H. Smith, and J. A. Saxton, Jr.) * "Effect of long time feeding of whole milk diets to white rats" (1955, with Floyd Lovelace, L. L. Barnes, C. A. H. Smith, J. A. Saxton Jr., and Clive M. McCay) * "

Parabiosis Parabiosis is a laboratory technique used in physiological research, derived from the Greek word meaning "living beside." The technique involves the surgical joining of two living organisms in such a way that they develop a single, shared physi ...

between Old and Young Rats" (1957, with Clive M. McCay, Frank Pope, Wanda Lunsford, and P. Sambhavaphol) * "Teeth, bones, and aging of

Syrian hamsters The golden hamster or Syrian hamster (''Mesocricetus auratus'') is a rodent belonging to the hamster subfamily, Cricetinae. Their natural geographical range is in an arid region of northern Syria and southern Turkey. Their numbers have been d ...

" (1958, with F. Lovelace L. Will, and Clive M. McCay) * "Parabiosis as a Method for Studying Factors which Affect Aging in Rats" (1963, with W. R. Lunsford, C. M. McCay, P. J. Lupien, and F. E. Pope) * "Effect of Sulfamerazine and Exercise on Life Span of Rats and Hamsters" (1978, with J. K. Loosli, P. Lupien, and Clive M. McCay)

Personal life

Sperling died in 2003, at the age of 98. Her papers are in special collections at the Cornell University Library.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sperling, Gladys Athena 1904 births 2003 deaths Oberlin College alumni Cornell University alumni American women scientists American bacteriologists People from Pulaski, New York Women bacteriologists