Iris Long
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Iris Lillian Doerr Long (born December 8, 1934) is an American chemist and activist in the
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...
(ACT UP) effort to spread information about the possible
Antiviral drugs Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Antiviral drugs are a class of antimicrobials ...
that could be used to combat
HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
.


Education and career

Iris Lillian Doerr Long was born December 8, 1934, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, New York. Her family was of German descent. At
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...
, she completed a bachelor of arts in 1955 and a master of arts in chemistry in 1964. Long worked as an organic chemist in several research hospitals, including eleven years at Sloan-Kettering, there she worked on developing nucleosides - experience that would later help her understand the workings of ARV drugs. She left Sloan-Kettering and earned her doctor of philosophy in 1972 at the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
. Her dissertation was titled ''Lactones as Possible Carcinogens and Tumor Inhibitors''. Long's doctoral advisor was
Robert E. Willette The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
. After her doctoral studies, Long worked briefly at
Long Island Jewish Medical Center Long Island Jewish Medical Center (also known as LIJ or LIJ Medical Center) is a clinical and academic hospital and medical campus within the Northwell Health system. It is a 1,004-bed, non-profit tertiary care teaching hospital and medical camp ...
. She later ceased working professionally as a chemist, and was acting as a stay at home carer for her mother, who was unwell. It was during this time that she became aware of the AIDS crisis and the potential use of drugs similar to those she had worked on to treat it.


Activism

Despite having no connection to the gay community, or HIV/AIDS sufferers, Long began to volunteer with the Community Research Initiative (CRI), distributing drugs that could possibly help against the virus to those infected. Many of the drugs being taken were
anti-cancer drugs Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard regimen. Chemotherapy may be given with a curat ...
. However, around March 1987 she attended a meeting of ACT-UP and was struck by the group's approach. She brought the group information on a clinical trial carried out on HIV positive patients by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) and was able to explain the types of drugs being used. This proved to be her greatest gift; explaining the complex range of drugs out there to the group. Following this she helped for the Treatment and Data Committee to review medical information and report back to the larger group. She would go on to organize the AIDS Treatment Registry.


Personal life

She is married to Michael G. Long.


See also

*
List of AIDS activists Socio-political activism to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS as well as to advance the effective treatment and care of people with AIDS (PWAs) has taken place in multiple locations since the 1980s. The evolution of the disease's progress into w ...
*
Women in chemistry This is a list of women chemists. It should include those who have been important to the development or practice of chemistry. Their research or application has made significant contributions in the area of basic or applied chemistry. Nobel Laur ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Iris 1934 births American HIV/AIDS activists Living people 20th-century American chemists 21st-century American chemists American women chemists 21st-century American women scientists 20th-century American women scientists Hunter College alumni University of Connecticut alumni American organic chemists Scientists from New York City American people of German descent Members of ACT UP