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Never very comfortable with scientific
luminaries, Elion preferred to spend time with
students. Speaking often to young people from
elementary through medical
school, she communicated the fun and
excitement of science. "It's a wonderful
life," she said. "I don't think I could have
chosen anything that would have made me happier. I
don't think people emphasize that enough—they
think about the scientist as someone stuck away in
the laboratory and oblivious to the rest of the
world. That's the farthest thing from the truth. I
feel as though I've made a contribution with my
life." Urging her listeners not to be deterred
from following their dreams, she often quoted
Admiral Farragut: "Damn the torpedoes! Full
speed ahead!"
Elion acquired a widespread reputation as an
inspiring, approachable, down-to-earth mentor to
students, assistants, and colleagues. She
encouraged her staff to explore their own ideas and
made it a point never to take credit for her
assistants' work; unlike most scientists, she did
not put her name on papers simply because the
research had been done in her lab. Always a team
player, she cared far more about the outcome of the
lab's collective work than about her own
reputation.
Elion never felt she needed female role models
and preferred to be known simply as a "scientist"
rather than as a "female scientist." She was
acutely aware, however, of the difficulties she had
encountered because of her sex, and she recognized
that the Nobel Prize put her in a unique position
to smooth the way for other women. Encouraging
girls to pursue scientific careers was a cause dear
to her heart; she was a leader of a Glaxo Wellcome
(successor to Burroughs Wellcome) program that
provided mentoring and scholarships for women
studying science, and when Burroughs Wellcome gave
her $250,000 to contribute to a charity of her
choice, she created a scholarship at Hunter College
for female graduate students in chemistry.
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