Neva Abelson
{{Short description|American research physician}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Neva Abelson
| image =Neva Abelson.png
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1910|11|19}}
| birth_place = Lamar, Missouri, US
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2000|9|26|1910|11|19}}
| death_place = Washington, US
| occupation = {{hlist|Pediatrician|research physician}}
| known_for = Rh blood factor test
| alma_mater = {{ubl|Washington State University|Johns Hopkins University}}
| spouse = Philip Abelson
| workplaces = University of Pennsylvania
| fields = Clinical pathology
}}
Neva Irene Martin Abelson (November 19, 1910 – September 26, 2000){{cite news |title=Neva I.M. Abelson, 89 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/09/28/neva-im-abelson-89/0ccd3383-b6df-42db-b3fc-823024177c22/ |access-date=February 27, 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=September 28, 2000}} was a distinguished research physician who co-discovered the life-saving blood test for the Rh blood factor (with Louis K. Diamond).
The Philip and Neva Abelson Hall at Washington State University was named in her honor.{{cite news|title=Science Hall renamed for Philip, Neva Abelson|url=https://news.wsu.edu/2002/08/23/science-hall-renamed-for-philip-neva-abelson/|accessdate=26 October 2017|publisher=WSU NEWS|date=August 23, 2002}}
Early career
Abelson graduated from Washington State University with a B.S. degree in chemistry.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kDg4AQAAMAAJ&q=%22neva+abelson%22|title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the Congress|last=Congress|first=United States|date=1963|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|language=en}} She became one of the first women to graduate from Johns Hopkins University with a medical degree.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K9UUAQAAIAAJ&q=%22neva+abelson%22|title=Year Book|last=Washington|first=Carnegie Institution of|date=1999|publisher=Carnegie Institution of Washington|language=en}} After medical school she became a pediatrician. She was the first pediatrician to ever be placed in charge of Johns Hopkins nurseries.
Her research at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a professor of clinical pathology, involved blood groups, blood diseases of infants, and the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MrKfCQAAQBAJ&q=%22neva+abelson%22&pg=PA42|title=Genetics & Society|last1=Omoto|first1=Charlotte|last2=Lurquin|first2=Paul|date=2015-03-05|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=9781483427126|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r7cwAQAAMAAJ&q=%22neva+abelson%22|title=The Cerebral Palsy Journal|date=1953|publisher=Institute of Logopedics.|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9bxsAAAAMAAJ&q=%22neva+abelson%22|title=Rh hemolytic disease: new strategy for eradication|last1=Frigoletto|first1=Fredric David|last2=Jewett|first2=John Figgis|last3=Konugres|first3=Angelyn Adele|date=1982|publisher=G.K. Hall Medical Publishers|isbn=9780816122486|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppVIAAAAYAAJ&q=%22neva+abelson%22|title=Transactions & Studies of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia: (4th Series, 1938-)|date=1947|publisher=The College|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fzw-AAAAIAAJ&q=%22neva+abelson%22|title=The Preservation of the Formed Elements and of the Proteins of the Blood|date=1949|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dr0hAQAAMAAJ&q=%22neva+abelson%22|title=American Journal of Diseases of Children|date=1950|publisher=American Medical Association.|language=en}} She published a book, Topics in Blood Banking, in 1974. She received the Emily Cooley Memorial Award from the American Association of Blood Banks.{{Cite news|url=https://news.wsu.edu/2000/10/02/wsu-alumna-and-supporter-neva-abelson-dies/|title=WSU Alumna and Supporter Neva Abelson Dies {{!}} WSU Insider {{!}} Washington State University|date=2000-10-02|work=WSU Insider|access-date=2018-07-26|language=en-US}}
In 1989, she received the Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award for her contributions to developing the test for the Rh blood factor.
She and her husband are responsible for contributing the largest fellowship endowment in Washington State University's College of Sciences.
Personal life
Abelson married Philip Abelson (1913–2004), a physicist, science writer and longtime editor of Science magazine.{{cite news|last1=Pepling|first1=Rachel|title=Philip Abelson Dies At 91|url=http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/8232/8232abelson.html|accessdate=26 October 2017|publisher=Chemical & Engineering News|date=August 9, 2004}} Their daughter, Ellen Abelson Cherniavsky who is now retired, worked as an aviation researcher at The MITRE Corporation in Virginia.
References
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060916152754/http://www.regents.wsu.edu/distinguished-alumni/recipients.html Washington State University] Regents' Distinguished Alumnus Award to Neva Martin Abelson (No. 23)
- [https://thepenngazette.com/obituaries-77 University of Pennsylvania Obituaries]
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Category:American pediatricians
Category:American women pediatricians
Category:University of Pennsylvania faculty
Category:Washington State University alumni
Category:American medical researchers
Category:20th-century American physicians
Category:20th-century American women physicians
Category:People from Tacoma, Washington
Category:Physicians from Washington (state)
Category:Johns Hopkins School of Medicine alumni
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