Wright, Jane Cooke (1919–)

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Wright, Jane Cooke (1919–)

African-American cancer researcher. Born Jane Cooke Wright, Nov 30, 1919, in New York, NY; dau. of Louis Tompkins Wright (surgeon) and Corinne Cooke Wright; graduate of Smith College, 1942; New York Medical College, MD with honors, 1945; m. David D. Jones (lawyer), 1947; children: 2.

Raised in family of researchers and doctors, including father, the 1st African-American doctor to work at a New York City hospital and founder of Harlem Hospital's Cancer Research Foundation; after father died, assumed his position as head of Harlem Hospital's Cancer Research Foundation (1952); joined faculty (1955) and later became associate professor of research surgery at New York University; worked as professor of surgery, associate dean, and director of new cancer research laboratory at New York Medical College; collaborated with Jewel Plummer Cobb on the effects of chemotherapy on cancer cells; was the 1st woman elected president of the New York Cancer Society (1972); received Albert Einstein School of Medicine's Spirit of Achievement Award, and American Association for Cancer Research award (1975); retired (1987).

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Wright, Jane Cooke (1919–)

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