Here at Element, we recognize that science is not an automatic march forward, but rather the culmination of countless discoveries made across generations. The history of scientific progress is riddled with spectacular contributions from women scientists that far too often go overlooked or uncredited, yet have been essential to building our current understanding of human biology. This Women’s History Month is a reminder that scientific innovation is at its core a human endeavor, shaped by the unique perspectives of the men and women who pursue it.
A prime example of an often-uncredited female scientist is Dr. Ruth Sager (1918-1997), a pioneering American geneticist whose work challenged the dominant belief that genetic information resided only in the cell nucleus. In the 1950s and 1960s, while working with the green algae Chlamydomonas, Sager discovered and characterized what we call “non-Mendelian inheritance patterns”-- early evidence that DNA also resided in chloroplasts.
This research was groundbreaking, and established an entirely new field called cytoplasmic genetics. At a time when most scientists dismissed the possibility of genetic material outside the nucleus, Sager’s discovery was both bold and original. Despite facing significant skepticism from the scientific establishment, her persistence led to the acceptance of a fundamentally new understanding of genetic inheritance and evolution.
After establishing herself as a leader in non-nuclear genetics, Sager went on to reinvent her scientific career in her fifties, pivoting to cancer research at Harvard Medical School's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. There, she made similarly significant contributions by identifying tumor suppressor genes, which can prevent cancer when functioning properly.
But as was far too common during this era, Sager was personally witness to significant gender barriers over her scientific career. Despite her immense contributions and discoveries, Sager did not receive a full faculty position until age 47.
Sager’s journey throughout her scientific career is an example of how intellectual courage and personal resilience can overcome stark obstacles. Sager twice established herself as a fearless pioneer in different fields. She changed our understanding of genetics while navigating the challenges faced by women in science during the mid-20th century.
At Element, we recognize the advancements of the AVITI and AVITI24 platforms would not be possible without the ingenuity and courage of scientists like Ruth Sager. Sager’s drive to prove the existence of DNA in chloroplasts not only expanded our understanding of genetics, it also dismantled 20th century preconceptions about who could make landmark discoveries in the first place.
So, on this Women's History Month, we celebrate Dr. Ruth Sager, whose persistence in the face of institutional resistance ultimately transformed our understanding of genetic material and paved the way for the multidimensional biological insights our platforms deliver today.