Rachel Harris Larson (née Harris) was an American chemist and dental researcher who studied the interrelationships of genetics, nutrition, and bacteriology in

dental caries Tooth decay, also known as cavities or caries, is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The cavities may be a number of different colors from yellow to black. Symptoms may include pain and difficulty with eating. Complicatio ...

. She was the first female scientist at the

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) is a branch of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The institute aims to improve the oral, dental, and craniofacial health through research and the distribution of important h ...

where she worked from 1942 until her retirement in 1977.

Early life and education

A native of

Wake Forest, North Carolina Wake Forest is a town in Franklin, Granville and Wake counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina; located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601. That ...

, Rachel Harris Larson was the oldest daughter and had 4 siblings. She graduated from

Appalachian State Teacher's College Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Doug ...

and worked as a social worker and mathematics and general science teacher. In the summer of 1943, after her younger sister Dorothy "Dot" Murphy graduated from business college, she received a civil service appointment in Washington, D.C. Larson decided to accompany her sister and look for a job in chemical research. She started working as a laboratory technician in the industrial hygiene laboratory at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U ...

(NIH). Larson worked by day at the NIH laboratories; nights and weekends, she studied toward her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. Her 1958 dissertation was titled ''Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as a caries potentiating agent in the rat''.

Career and research

Larson was the first female scientist at the

(NIDR) where she researched in the dental caries section. Larson's studies at the NIDR on the interrelationships of genetics, nutrition, and bacteriology in dental caries in experimental animals brought her international recognition. She was a fellow of the American College of Dentists and presented a

DHEW The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a Cabinet of the United States, cabinet-level United States federal executive departments, executive branch department of the U.S. federal government of the United States, fede ...

superior service honor award. Larson and her sister retired from NIH in 1977.

Personal life

Larson met her husband, Philip Larson on a cruise in Bermuda. She was widowed after 10 years of marriage. She remarried in 1971 to John W. Henry but continued to use the surname Larson to retain her established identity in the scientific community and literature. After retirement, she did volunteer work in the Washington area and spent time with husband at their mountain cottage near

Front Royal, Virginia Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,011 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. History The entire Shenandoah Valley incl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Rachel Harris 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American chemists Scientists from North Carolina People from Wake Forest, North Carolina American medical researchers American women medical researchers National Institutes of Health people Georgetown University alumni Appalachian State University alumni American women chemists Chemists from North Carolina