Irena Koprowska

Irena Koprowska, née Grasberg (May 12, 1917 - August 16, 2012) was a Polish pathologist and a leader in the field of cytopathology. She co-authored with Dr. Georgios Papanikolaou the earliest case report of lung cancer identified from a sputum smear.

She was the first woman to be named a full professor at Hahnemann Medical College and worked as the director of the School of Cytotechnology. She was director of the cytology lab at Temple University Hospital and professor of pathology at Temple University Medical School from 1970 to 1987. She received the Papanicolaou Award from the American Society of Cytopathology in 1985.

Early life and education She was born Irena Grasberg May 12, 1917, in Warsaw, Poland, to Eugenia and Henryk Grasberg. In 1944, she moved with her husband to New York City to help further his research career.

She published over 100 scientific articles in 1985. She consulted for 30 years with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and the World Health Organization.

She published her autobiography, A Woman Wanders Through Life and Science, in 1997.

She died August 16, 2012, at her home in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, and was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.