Katherine Sanford

Katherine Koontz Sanford (July 19, 1915 – September 12, 2005), also known as Katherine Sanford Mifflin, was an American biologist and cancer researcher who worked at the National Cancer Institute for nearly 50 years, serving as head of Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology. In the 1940s she became the first person to successfully clone a mammalian cell in vitro, which allowed for more efficient means of creating pure strains of cells for study. She also developed the first laboratory test to distinguish people with Alzheimer's disease and people predisposed to cancer.

Early life and education Sanford was born July 19, 1915, in Chicago, Illinois, to parents Alta Rache and William James Koontz. She was educated at North Shore Country Day School, a selective prep school in Winnetka, Illinois. She then attended Wellesley College with her two sisters. She graduated from Wellesley with an undergraduate degree in 1937. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she then attended Brown University, where she pursued a master's and doctorate in biology. She studied under zoologist Arthur M. Banta, and graduated with a Ph.D in 1942. She was one of a small distinguished group of women who attended Brown University's graduate biology program in the 1940s.

Sanford began her career as a research scientist as part of the tissue culture section of the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Biology. It did not take her long to make an impact, as almost immediately after joining she made her largest discovery involving a method of cloning mammalian cancer cells in vitro. She served on various AACR committees during her career. Additionally, she was a member of the American Society for Cell Biology, the American Society of Human Genetics, the Tissue Culture Association, and the International Society for Cell Biology.

Research Starting in 1947 Katherine Sanford began her research career with the National Cancer Institute. Working with Dr. Virginia Evans and a group of tissue-culture workers she became the first to successfully clone a mammalian cell in vitro. This allowed the advancement of research on metabolic and genetic features of the clone cell.

Awards and honors In 1954, seven years after joining the NCI, Sanford was recognized with Ross Harrison Fellowship Award for her method of cloning mammalian cells.

Marriage and death Sanford married Charles F. R. Mifflin in 1971. She died September 12, 2005, aged 90. "Familial Clustering of Breast Cancer: Possible Interaction Between DNA Repair Proficiency and Radiation Exposure in the Development of Breast Cancer"- International Journal of Cancer, 1995 "Fluorescent Light-Induced Chromatid Breaks Distinguish Alzheimer Disease Cells from Normal Cells in Tissue Culture"- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1996