© 2024 Corcept Therapeutics, Incorporated
Highlighting contributions from scientists who identify as LGBTQ+ not only breaks stereotypes but also provides crucial role models for future generations, promoting inclusivity and innovation in scientific communities.
Celebrating Dr. Neena Schwartz
To honor Pride Month, Corcept celebrates the work of Dr. Neena Schwartz (December 10, 1926 – April 15, 2018), an endocrinologist who identified as a lesbian. Dr. Schwartz was a pioneer for women in science as well as a leader in the discipline of endocrinology.
Early Career
An honors graduate of Goucher College, Schwartz received her Ph.D. in physiology from Northwestern University, where she was the only female Ph.D. student in the department. She became a physiology instructor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and again was the only woman in her department. She moved to her alma mater in 1973 and became the chair of the biology department of the medical school where she served for four years.
Impact on Endocrinology
Schwartz’s research played a major role in endocrinology by developing the modern understanding of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which regulates many body processes, such as immune responses, mood, emotions, energy storage, and digestion, as well as controls reactions to stress.
In her research, Schwartz studied the feedback mechanisms that govern hormonal signaling pathways in the female reproductive cycle. Her work was significant in discovering the hormone inhibin, which plays a role in both male and female hormonal signaling.
Schwartz earned honors from multiple organizations for her work, including the Williams Distinguished Service Award from the Endocrine Society and the Carl Hartman Research Award from the Society for the Study of Reproduction. Additionally, Northwestern University awarded her the Alumni Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Endocrine Society recognized her with the Women in Endocrinology Mentor of the Year Award, the Distinguished Educator Award, and the Pioneer in Reproductive Research Award. The Northwestern School of Medicine also honored her with the Alumni Merit Award. She served as a fellow and board member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which honored her with the Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Activism
In addition to her academic and professional success, Schwartz became involved with the feminist movement in the 1970s and was a founding member of the Association for Women in Science, where she served a role in securing a commitment from the National Institutes of Health to appoint more women. In response to the lack of women’s representation in the Endocrine Society, she co-founded and eventually became president of the Women in Endocrinology Society.
Although she identified as a lesbian since she was a teenager, Schwartz publicly came out in her memoir, A Lab of My Own, which she published in 2010. In it, she details the micro and macro aggressions she faced as a female scientist. She expressed hope that her book would “provide young gay scientists or other professionals with a lesson of possibilities for success and happiness without such splits in their lives.” She believed that by sharing her experiences she provided lessons for a new generation of scientists and that sharing her sexuality was a key part of telling her story, and the story of the feminist movement in science.
We are proud to honor Dr. Schwartz’s contributions not only to endocrinology but to the feminist movement and LGBTQ+ community. Her legacy lives on in the discoveries she made and the impact she had through her mentorship in the scientific community.
Sources:
“Neena B. Schwartz, PhD.” Hidden No More, Northwestern University, https://www.northwestern.edu/hidden-no-more/faculty-profiles/neena-b.-schwartz.html. Accessed 3 May 2024.
“Neena Schwartz.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neena_Schwartz. Accessed 3 May 2024.
Woodruff, Teresa K., and Kelly E. Mayo. “Remembering Neena B. Schwartz, PhD: A Lab & Life of Her Making.” Endocrine News, Apr. 2018, https://endocrinenews.endocrine.org/remembering-neena-b-schwartz-phd-a-lab-life-of-her-making/. Accessed 3 May 2024.