Gertrude Falk

Gertrude Falk (August 24, 1925 – March 9, 2008) was an American physiologist, who was Professor of Physiology at University College London, and the first woman to work in her field at UCL Medical School. Born to immigrant parents in the United States, she was the first in her family to enroll at university, earning Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Falk worked at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, University of Washington and UCL Medical School. She and neuroscientist Paul Fatt researched cellular biophysics to find how the retina converts light into electrical signals, and later worked alongside Jonathan Ashmore in demonstrating that light responses can be increased significantly at the synthase between the rod bipolar cell and photoreceptor cell.

Biography Gertrude Falk was born in Brooklyn, New York City on August 24, 1925. Her mother was a Lithuanian Jew who entered the United States at the age of 16, Falk had one sister. She worked as a guard at her father's shop, and helped him to conceal non-unionized workers in the cupboard when inspectors visited the shop. Falk expressed a desire to enroll at university though her traditionalist parents objected to this. which required a deep comprehension of biophysics. Those experiments helped to explain how the retina converts light into electrical signals.

Political activism Outside her academic work, Falk was a decades-long member of the Hampstead Labour Party, working in campaigning and fundraising from her home in Hampstead Hill Gardens. However, she was opposed to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and New Labour,

Selected publications