Ann Stone Minot
Ann Stone Minot was an American U.S. biochemist and physiologist.
She was born in Woodsville, New Hampshire, the oldest of six children born to Jonas Buck Minot and Sybil. For their early education, Minot and her siblings attended the Bath Village School, a small three-room schoolhouse. Minot studied at Smith College, graduating in 1915 with an A.B.. She was soon hired as a lab assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she remained for five years, acquiring an interest in biochemical and physiological clinical studies. During this period she published eighteen scientific papers, and worked with the biochemical pioneer Willey Denis starting in 1917. In 1920 she returned to school for graduate studies at Radcliffe College, which then functioned as the all-female branch of Harvard College. She investigated lead poisoning for her doctorate, and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1925 with a thesis titled, "Distribution of Lead in the Organism in Acute and Chronic Lead Poisoning".
Upon graduation, Minot worked as a research associate in the department of pharmacology at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. In 1930 she became an assistant professor of pediatric research at Vanderbilt, investigating the effects of hormones on bone growth and studying fluid balance in infant diarrhea. Her studies led her to an interest in progressive muscle diseases, including myasthenia gravis and muscular dystrophy. In 1938, she became the first to apply guanidine to treat myasthesia gravis. Minot was named associate professor in biochemistry in 1943. She remained in pediatric research until 1946, when she became Director of the Clinical Chemistry Lab. In 1948, she was elected to alumni membership of Phi Beta Kappa, Zeta Chapter, for her bone treatment method. Minot was raised to full professorship in 1950, and remained so until 1960 when she retired and was named professor emeritus. She continued as a research associate in endocrinology. In total, she published 70 scientific papers. The Vanderbilt Blood Bank was established under her direction. Other topics of research include protein deficiency, Vitamin C deficiency, and tocopherol.
