When Ellen Vitetta launched into the fifth Charlotte Friend Memorial Lecture on April 6 at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Francisco, the audience, expecting the tale of an immunotoxin's journey from bench to bedside, instead saw a hilarious presentation contrasting the male and female human brain. With huge distinctions in skills allocation, such as sex lobe vs. sex particle and commitment lobe vs. commitment neuron, the two displayed brains were equal for skills in science-medicine. It was a fitting and unforgettable beginning to the lectureship awarded to a scientist who excels in cancer research and has furthered the advancement of women in science
Vitetta began her scientific career at New York University School of Medicine and graduate school. "The first time that I met Ellen was in 1966, when I gave an immunology lecture in the medical microbiology course. After the lecture, a...
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