Elizabeth Bugie

Elizabeth Bugie was born to Charles Bugie and Madeline Turbett. Bugie's father never studied beyond high school, and was committed to her education.{{Cite web|url=http://www.scientistafoundation.com/discovher-science/elizabeth-bugie-the-invisible-woman-in-the-discovery-of-streptomycin|title=Elizabeth Bugie – the invisible woman in the discovery of streptomycin|last=Angelova|first=Lidiya|website=Scientista {{!}} Women in STEM|access-date=2018-08-16}} He encouraged her to explore her curiosity, prompting her to be analytical and strong-willed.{{Cite web|title=Obiturary: Elizabeth Gregory / Did McCandless woman get fair shake for role in discovery of streptomycin?|url=http://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20010414gregory2.asp|access-date=2021-12-04|website=old.post-gazette.com|archive-date=2021-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129213617/http://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20010414gregory2.asp|url-status=dead}}

Bugie studied microbiology at the New Jersey College for Women. She was a master's student at Rutgers University, working with Selman Waksman. Her master's thesis, Production of antibiotic substances by aspergillus flavus and chaetomium cochliodes, looked to optimise the production of flavicin and chaetomin.{{Cite book|url=https://rutgers.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?vid=01RUT_INST:01RUT&docid=alma991014836289704646|title=Production of antibiotic substances by aspergillus flavus and chaetomium cochliodes}}

Bugie worked on antimicrobials which could protect plants from Dutch elm disease.{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Selman A.|last2=Bugie|first2=Elizabeth|date=1943-10-01|title=Action of Antibiotic Substances Upon Ceratostotnella ulmi|journal=Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine|volume=54|issue=1|pages=79–82|doi=10.3181/00379727-54-14310|s2cid=87534513|issn=0037-9727|author-link=Selman Abraham Waksman}} In 1944 Bugie, Waksman and Albert Schatz identified streptomycin in cultures of soil organisms, an antibiotic which was found to be active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/history-of-medicine/Medicine-in-the-20th-century#ref702680|title=History of medicine - Medicine in the 20th century|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-08-16}}{{Cite journal|last1=Schatz|first1=Albert|last2=Bugle|first2=Elizabeth|last3=Waksman|first3=Selman A.|date=1944-01-01|title=Streptomycin, a Substance Exhibiting Antibiotic Activity Against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria.|journal=Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine|volume=55|issue=1|pages=66–69|doi=10.3181/00379727-55-14461|s2cid=33680180|issn=0037-9727|author-link=Albert Schatz (scientist)}} Bugie was told that it was not important for her name to be on the patent as she would "one day get married and have a family".{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8352397/elizabeth_bugie_gregory_published/|title=Elizabeth (Bugie) Gregory - published landmark article in 1944 - Newspapers.com|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=2018-08-16}} Waksman went on to win the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1952 and took all the credit for the discovery of streptomycin. Waksman claimed that Bugie was more involved in the discovery than Schatz.{{Cite web|url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/selmanwaksman.html|title=Selman Waksman and Antibiotics - Landmark - American Chemical Society|website=American Chemical Society|access-date=2018-08-16}} Waksman also wrote articles about his discovery, rarely mentioning help he had received.{{Cite news|url=https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/streptomycin-8212-arrogance-and-anger/20016685.article|title=Streptomycin — arrogance and anger|work=Pharmaceutical Journal|access-date=2018-08-16|archive-date=2018-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817023413/https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/streptomycin-8212-arrogance-and-anger/20016685.article|url-status=dead}} Bugie was eventually awarded 0.2% of the royalties for streptomycin.{{Cite web|url=http://www.albertschatzphd.com/?cat=about&subcat=newspapers&itemnum=012|title=Their Dispute Over Discovery of Streptomycin Is Settled|website=www.albertschatzphd.com|access-date=2018-08-16}} After the discovery of streptomycin, Bugie worked on micromonosporin, a pigmented glycoprotein which was active against gram-positive bacteria.{{Cite Q|Q40037245|last=Waksman|first=Selman A.|last2=Geiger|first2=Walton B.|last3=Bugie|first3=Elizabeth}} Bugie worked for Merck & Co., evaluating pyrazinoic acid and penicillin as antibiotics against mycobacterium tuberculosis.{{Cite book|last1=Eveleigh|first1=Douglas E.|last2=Bennett|first2=Joan W.|date=2018-05-01|title=Women Microbiologists at Rutgers in the Early Golden Age of Antibiotics|doi=10.1128/9781555819545|isbn=9781555819538|author2-link=Joan W. Bennett}} Bugie developed several antimicrobial substances.{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Selman A.|last2=Bugie|first2=Elizabeth|date=September 1943|title=Strain Specificity and Production of Antibiotic Substances|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America| volume=29|issue=9|pages=282–288|issn=0027-8424|pmc=1078613|pmid=16578091|doi=10.1073/pnas.29.9.282|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Bugie|first2=E.|date=November 1944|title=Chaetomin, a New Antibiotic Substance Produced by Chaetomium cochliodes: I. Formation and Properties|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=48|issue=5|pages=527–530|doi=10.1128/jb.48.5.527-530.1944|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16560863|pmc=374002}}

After graduating, Bugie married Francis Joseph Gregory, who also worked as a microbiologist in the Waksman lab. Bugie eventually returned to academia to get a degree in library science after raising her family. Bugie's daughter, Eileen Gregory, is a microbiologist at Rollins College. and has stated that her mother "did research not for notoriety but for love of science".

Bugie died on April 10, 2001.{{cite news|last= Snowbeck|first=Christopher|url=http://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20010414gregory2.asp|url-status=dead|title=Obiturary: Elizabeth Gregory / Did McCandless woman get fair shake for role in discovery of streptomycin?|date=April 14, 2001|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720093829/http://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20010414gregory2.asp|archive-date=July 20, 2019|access-date=September 23, 2021}}

In the discovery of Streptomycin three people played a large role, namely Waksman, Shatz, and Bugie, later known as Elizabeth Gregory. They worked closely together to ultimately, as a group, discover streptomycin. Waksman historically received the most recognition.

When looking at the contributions made to the study and discovery of streptomycin, Bugie contributed as much, if not more than Shatz.{{Cite web|title=Selman Waksman and Antibiotics - Landmark|url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/selmanwaksman.html|access-date=2021-12-04|website=American Chemical Society|language=en}} However there was an uneven distribution in compensation that each contributor received. Schatz sued Waksman in order to get royalties, but when each got their share, Waksman received 10%, Schatz 3%, and all of the other members of the lab shared the last 7%, in which Bugie received 0.2%. When the patent was created, neither Waksman nor Shatz included Bugie, claiming that it would not matter because someday she would be married and have kids.{{Cite web|title=The Forgotten Women of the Antibiotics Race|url=https://www.ladyscience.com/features/forgotten-women-researchers-in-the-race-for-antibiotics-2021|access-date=2021-12-04|website=Lady Science|language=en-US}} When the patent was originally signed, Bugie signed an affidavit.{{Cite journal|last=Wainwright|first=Milton|date=1991|title=Streptomycin: Discovery and Resultant Controversy|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23330620|journal=History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences|volume=13|issue=1|pages=97–124|jstor=23330620 |pmid=1882032 |issn=0391-9714}} In this affidavit, Bugie stated that she was informed about streptomycin by Waksman and Shatz and had no part in the discovery of streptomycin. Bugie was, however, later quoted by her daughters as having said that if the women's liberation movement had been present, she would have received credit towards the patent on streptomycin. Shatz explained "the fact that Waksman asked her to do the work was a testimonial to her talents and competence,"showing how much of an impact she actually made, and how little she was compensated for it.

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Category:1920 births

Category:2001 deaths

Category:American microbiologists

Category:American women microbiologists

Category:Rutgers University alumni

Category:20th-century American women

Category:20th-century American chemists