Stewart, Sarah (1906–1976)
Stewart, Sarah (1906–1976)
American viral oncologist. Born Aug 16, 1906, in Tecalitlan, Mexico; grew up in New Mexico; died of cancer, Nov 27, 1976; dau. of George (mining engineer) and Maria Andrade Stewart; New Mexico State University, AB, 1927; University of Chicago, PhD, 1939; Georgetown University, MD.
Joined the Microbiology Laboratory of the National Institute of Health (NIH) where she researched bacteria (1936–44); transferred to the NIH's National Cancer Institute (1947) but lost her position when she returned to school to earn her MD; with Bernice Eddy, discovered the SE polyoma virus (named after Stewart and Eddy), which caused cancer in mammals (the discovery, which initially met with widespread skepticism, was eventually regarded as a major scientific breakthrough); received Federal Women's Award by President Lyndon Johnson (1965).