Elaine Diacumakos

Elaine Diacumakos (August 11, 1930 – June 11, 1984) was an American cell biologist and head of the cytobiology laboratory at Rockefeller University. She developed the first techniques for removing and inserting material into and from cells.

Early life and education Diacumakos was born in Chester, Pennsylvania on August 11, 1930. She studied zoology at the University of Maryland, College Park, graduating in 1951. She completed a master's degree in embryology in 1955 and her doctorate at New York University in 1958.

Research Diacumakos completed her postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University between 1958 and 1960. She made important contributions to the micromanipulation of mammalian cells. She studied the displacement of chromosomes during extraction at different mitotic stages. She demonstrated the precise fusion of mammalian somatic cells using microsurgery in 1972. She was made head of the Cytobiology Laboratory in 1975 after Tatum died unexpectedly.

In 1979 she collaborated with William French Anderson to insert a functioning gene into a defective cell within a living mouse, correcting a genetic defect. Her microsurgical techniques opened new paths to curing medical conditions. She lectured at the Pasteur Institute in 1981.

Diacumakos died of a heart attack on June 11, 1984.