VPW: Leadership, Gender, and Collaboration in Science: Dorothy C. Hodgkin (1910-94) and the Oxford School of Biomolecular Crystallography

VPW：科学领域的领导力、性别和合作：Dorothy C. Hodgkin (1910-94) 和牛津生物分子晶体学学院

• 批准号: 9627339
• 负责人: PNINA ABIR-AM
• 金额: $ 12.06万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1997
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1997-08-15 至 1999-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9627339&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: VPW; Leadership; Gender; Collaboration; Science

This research explores two phases in the rise of the research school of bimolecular crystallography at Oxford, the only research school in international renown led by a woman, and the only such school to include a critical mass of women members. Led by Dorothy C. Hodgkin (1910-1994), a sole Nobelist in chemistry (1964), this research school distinguished itself by successfully solving the structure of a series of biological compounds of increasing structural complexity, including the sterol (sex hormones) in the late 1930s; penicillin (the miracle drug for infectious diseases, especially in WW2) in the 1940s; vitamin B-12 (the factor needed to prevent pernicious anemia) in the 1950s; and insulin (the hormone regulating sugar metabolism) in the 1960s. This project focuses on the relationship between molecular and social complexity in the work on the structure of penicillin (1940s) and vitamin B-12 (the 1950s), phases in which women were key members of the research teams. First, the project explores the gender dimensions of this research school, while focusing on: a) the recruitment and retaining of members of both sexes in a research school led by a woman, at a time very few women persisted in science, let alone in positions of authority; b) the career patterns of the women members, in and out of a school in which they both had a distinguished role model and a "critical mass". this part of the project can offer important historical lessons for framing a science policy agenda to foster gender equality in 21st Century science. Second, the project clarifies the social processes of cross-gender collaboration and the scientific outcomes involved in the transition from the X-ray crystallography of "small" biological molecules to that of large macromolecule (proteins and DNA), a transition crucial for our understanding of the molecular revolution in 20th Century biology. Interactive activities include: teaching a new research seminar on "History and social implic ations of molecular biology and biotechnology" for one term; teaching a new undergraduate course on "New direction in the history of women in science" for another term, and organizing a workshop on "Science policy or social policy for women in science: From historical case-studies to an agenda for the 21st Century".

这项研究探讨了牛津大学双分子晶体学研究学院兴起的两个阶段，这是唯一一所由女性领导的国际知名研究学院，也是唯一一所包括大量女性成员的研究学院。 由Dorothy C领导。霍奇金（1910-1994），唯一的诺贝尔化学奖得主（1964），这个研究学校的杰出成就是成功地解决了一系列结构日益复杂的生物化合物的结构，包括甾醇（性激素）在20世纪30年代后期;青霉素（治疗传染病的特效药，尤其是在二战中）;维生素B-12（预防恶性贫血所需的因子）;以及胰岛素（调节糖代谢的激素）在20世纪60年代。 该项目的重点是研究青霉素（1940年代）和维生素B-12（1950年代）结构的工作中分子和社会复杂性之间的关系，在这两个阶段，妇女是研究小组的主要成员。 首先，该项目探讨了这所研究学校的性别层面，同时侧重于：（a）在一所由妇女领导的研究学校中，招聘和留住男女成员，当时很少有妇女坚持从事科学工作，更不用说担任权威职位了; B）女成员的职业模式，她们在学校内外都有一个杰出的榜样和“临界质量”。 项目的这一部分可以为制定科学政策议程提供重要的历史教训，以促进21世纪科学中的性别平等。 其次，该项目阐明了跨性别合作的社会过程以及从“小”生物分子的X射线晶体学到大分子（蛋白质和DNA）的X射线晶体学过渡所涉及的科学成果，这一过渡对我们理解20世纪世纪生物学的分子革命至关重要。 互动活动包括：教授一个学期关于“分子生物学和生物技术的历史和社会影响”的新的研究研讨会;教授另一个学期关于“科学界妇女历史的新方向”的新的本科课程，并组织一个关于“科学界妇女的科学政策或社会政策：从历史案例研究到21世纪议程”的讲习班。