Gertrude B. Elion

Gertrude "Trudy" Belle Elion (January 23, 1918 – February 21, 1999) was an American biochemist and pharmacologist, who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with George H. Hitchings and Sir James Black for their use of innovative methods of rational drug design for the development of new drugs. This new method focused on understanding the target of the drug rather than simply using trial-and-error. Her work led to the creation of the anti-retroviral drug AZT, which was the first drug widely used against AIDS. Her well known works also include the development of the first immunosuppressive drug, azathioprine, used to fight rejection in organ transplants, and the first successful antiviral drug, acyclovir (ACV), used in the treatment of herpes infection.

Awards: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, National Women's Hall of Fame, National Medal of Science, Garvan–Olin Medal, National Inventors Hall of Fame, Lemelson–MIT Prize, Women in Technology Hall of Fame, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Foreign Member of the Royal Society, North Carolina Award for Science Education: Hunter College, New York University, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Walton High School

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_B._Elion