Dottie Thomas

Dorothy "Dottie" Thomas (née Martin) (San Antonio, Texas, September 18, 1922 – Seattle, January 9, 2015) was an American hematology researcher and administrator known for her work in developing bone marrow transplants. She and her husband, Edward Donnall Thomas, partnered to research leukemia and other blood disorders, and developed the technique for transplanting bone marrow. Her husband was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 due to his discoveries about cell and organ transplantation in the treatment of human diseases that he had completed along with Dorothy. This Nobel Prize was shared with Joseph Edward Murray, an American plastic surgeon.

Early life and education Dorothy Elaine Martin was born and raised in Texas, attending public school in her hometown of San Antonio throughout her childhood. She studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. Heavy snow showers changed her future after she threw a snowball that crashed into a senior student of chemistry, Edward Donnall Thomas.

The couple got married in December 1942 and in 1943 Edward Donnall Thomas was admitted to Harvard Medical School from the Army of the United States.

Career and research After the admission of her husband to the Harvard Medical School, Dorothy decided to switch to medicine in 1943 and moved to New England Deaconess Hospital, where she realized a medical technology training and she qualified as a hematology technician.

Legacy In 2014, Dorothy Thomas became a major benefactor of the Fred Hutchinson Center where she created a financial endowment called Dottie's Bridge with the intention to boost young researchers with fellowships. Dorothy was closely tied to science until her death in the year 2015.