Margaret oakley dayhoff biography sample

Dr. Margaret Belle (Oakley) Dayhoff (March 11, 1925 – 1983) was an American physical chemist and a pioneer in the field of bioinformatics. She was the first woman to hold office in the Biophysical Society, first as Secretary and eventually President. She originated one of the first substitution matrices, Point accepted mutations or (PAM).

Early life

Dayhoff was born an only child in Philadelphia, but moved to New York City as a child. Her academic promise was evident from the outset; she was valedictorian (class of 1942) at Bayside High School, Bayside, New York and from there received a scholarship to Washington Square College of New York University, graduating magna cum laude in mathematics in 1945.

Professor Margaret Dayhoff | Biographical summary

Research

From there, Dayhoff undertook a Ph.D. in quantum chemistry, under George Kimball, in the Columbia University Department of Chemistry. In her graduate thesis, Dayhoff had pioneered the use of computer capabilities -- i.e. mass-data Celebrating Women's History: Margaret Oakley Dayhoff ZUVED