Hattie Alexander

Hattie Elizabeth Alexander (April 5, 1901 – June 24, 1968) was an American pediatrician and microbiologist. She earned her M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1930 and continued her research and medical career at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Alexander became the lead microbiologist and the head of the bacterial infections program at Columbia-Presbyterian. She occupied many prestigious positions at Columbia University and was well honored even after her death from liver cancer in 1968. Alexander is known for her development of the first effective remedies for Haemophilus influenzae infection, as well as being one of the first scientists to identify and study antibiotic resistance. She has received many awards and honors including the E. Mead Johnson Award in 1942 for her headway in pediatric research and antibiotic resistance. Alexander's research and studies helped lay the ground work for research into antibiotic and vaccine development.

Early life and education Alexander was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 5, 1901, the second of seven children. Her birth was not registered properly, thus later on in her life she had to provide proof of her baptism in order to receive a passport. Alexander distinguished herself throughout school, so much so that her high school English teacher obtained a full scholarship for her at Goucher College. Alexander graduated from Goucher College in 1923 with a bachelor's of arts degree in bacteriology and physiology. One of the first jobs Alexander had after she graduated was in the National Laboratory in Washington, D.C., as a bacteriologist. Here she met and impressed the director of the laboratory, Septima Smith, who helped to financially support Alexander in medical school. From 1941 to 1945, she served as a consultant to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson on the Influenza Commission. Alexander was the first woman to serve as president of the American Pediatric Society. Alexander died of liver cancer in New York City on June 24, 1968. Her obituary was published in The New York Times and The Baltimore Sun, which recognized her for producing the first treatment for influenzal meningitis. In the early 1940s, Alexander began researching Haemophilus influenzae (Hib) meningitis, at the time an almost invariably fatal disease in infants and young children. The combined use of the antiserum, sulfa drugs, and antibiotics significantly lowered the mortality rate from Hib.