Dorothy Hansine Andersen
3/28/2023 | 1m 14sVideo has Closed Captions
Dorothy Andersen's research advanced the diagnosis and treatment of cystic fibrosis.
Dorothy Hansine Andersen from Asheville identified cystic fibrosis and led the research team who found a treatment. Her team also invented a test to diagnose cystic fibrosis, which is still used today.
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The Uncommon Story: Notable North Carolinians is a local public television program presented by PBS NC
This series was produced with support from the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.
Dorothy Hansine Andersen
3/28/2023 | 1m 14sVideo has Closed Captions
Dorothy Hansine Andersen from Asheville identified cystic fibrosis and led the research team who found a treatment. Her team also invented a test to diagnose cystic fibrosis, which is still used today.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship[upbeat jingle] - [Narrator] You may not have heard of the rare disorder Andersen's Disease but you've probably heard of Cystic Fibrosis.
Asheville native Dorothy Hansine Andersen was the first person to identify both.
Dorothy wanted to be a surgeon but after graduating in 1926 as one of only eight women from Johns Hopkins Medical School and then completing her medical internship at Strong Memorial Hospital in New York, she was denied a surgical residency because she was a woman.
Instead, she went to work at Baby's Hospital at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City and ultimately became the Chief of Pathology.
In 1938, at the age of 37, Dorothy not only identified Cystic Fibrosis but also led the research team that would find a treatment and invent a test to diagnose it, which is still used today.
The North Carolinian, who once roofed her own house, referred to herself as a rugged individualist and never lost her love of hiking, canoeing, and carpentry, or her gift for science.
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The Uncommon Story: Notable North Carolinians is a local public television program presented by PBS NC
This series was produced with support from the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.