Marie Maynard Daly

Marie Maynard Daly was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Columbia University and the first African American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry. She conducted influential studies on proteins, sugars, and cholesterol and made important contributions in four areas of research: the chemistry of nucleic acids and histones, protein synthesis mechanisms, cholesterol’s role in hypertension, and creatine uptake in muscle cells. 

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Daly was educated at Queens College (B.S. in chemistry, 1942), New York University (M.S. in chemistry, 1943), and Columbia University (Ph.D. in chemistry, 1947). After receiving her doctorate, Daly taught physical science at Howard University in Washington, D.C., for two years. In 1948, the American Cancer Society awarded her a postdoctoral fellowship at the Rockefeller Institute (now Rockefeller University). There she joined the lab of molecular biologist Alfred E. Mirsky and spent the next seven years conducting research that focused primarily on the cell nucleus and metabolic processes within the nucleus. 

Daly’s work provided insight into the composition and function of proteins known as histones, which bind to DNA and dictate the shape of chromosomes. In addition, she published research on the proportions of the nucleotides known as purines and pyrimidines in nucleic acids–an important precursor to the identification of DNA’s structure by James Watson and Francis Crick–and investigated the involvement of RNA in protein synthesis. 

In 1955, she joined Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, with a research appointment at Goldwater Memorial Hospital, through which she studied the relationship between cholesterol and heart attacks with Quentin B. Deming. In 1958, Daly became an investigator for the American Heart Association. In 1960, Daly and Deming moved their lab to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she turned to research on the biochemistry of aging. She was promoted to associate professor in 1971, a title that she held until her retirement in 1986.

Photo of Marie Maynard Daly from Rockefeller University Digital Commons.