Jean Apgar Explained

Jean Apgar
Birth Name:Barbara Jean Francis
Birth Date:March 4, 1936
Birth Place:Tyler, Texas
Occupation:Biochemist

Barbara Jean Francis Apgar (born March 4, 1936) is an American biochemist. She worked on important research on ribonucleic acids (RNA), and on zinc deficiency as a risk factor in reproduction. She won the Federal Woman's Award in 1970, and the Arthur S. Flemming Award in 1973.

Early life and education

Barbara Jean Francis was born in Tyler, Texas, the daughter of Albert Edward Francis and Mary Agnes Linehan Francis.[1] Her father was a railroad engineer.[2] She completed undergraduate studies in chemistry at Texas Woman's University, and earned her master's degree and Ph.D. at Cornell University.[3] Her 1959 master's thesis was titled "The effect of conventional and electronic cooking on the thiamine content of pork patties, roasts, and chops";[4] her 1964 doctoral dissertation was titled "Separation of E. coli leucine-acceptor RNAs".[5]

Career

Apgar worked for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a biochemist in the Plant, Soil and Nutrition Laboratory at Cornell University. She was a member of a team studying the structure of ribonucleic acids (RNA) with Robert W. Holley.[6] The team won a 1965 USDA Distinguished Service Award, and Holley received a Nobel Prize in 1968, for that work.[7] "Being the first person to do something has a certain fascination," she later wrote, "but it isn't an experience most of us expect to have."[8] Her research in the 1970s focused on the role of zinc in reproductive physiology, and on zinc deficiency as a maternal and fetal health risk during pregnancy and delivery.[9]

In 1970, she was one of the six recipients of the Federal Woman's Award,[10] and the youngest woman to receive that honor. In 1972, she received an Arthur S. Flemming Award, given annually to ten promising young employees of the federal government.

Selected publications

Between 1959 and 1997, Apgar published dozens of research articles in academic journals including Journal of the American Dietetic Association,[11] Journal of the American Chemical Society,[12] Journal of Biological Chemistry,[13] American Journal of Physiology,[14] Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry,[15] Journal of Animal Science,[16] and Journal of Nutrition.[17] Some of her articles include the following:

Food science projects

RNA work with R. W. Holley group

Work on zinc deficiency

Later collaborations

Personal life

Jean Francis married Ronald W. Apgar in 1958; they lived in Ithaca, New York, and had three children. "The children went to the laboratory with me," she explained, adding "I have very efficient children." Her son Michael died in a car accident in 1985.[27]

Notes and References

  1. News: 1970-03-13. Native Texan Youngest U.S. Woman Honored. 16. The Baytown Sun. 2021-10-27. Newspapers.com.
  2. News: 1985-06-24. A. E. 'Bert' Francis Services Tuesday. 8. The Tyler Courier-Times. 2021-10-27. Newspapers.com.
  3. News: 1970-02-16. Woman Honored for Federal Service; Youngest to Get Award. 13. The Ithaca Journal. 2021-10-27. Newspapers.com.
  4. The effect of conventional and electronic cooking on the thiamine content of pork patties, roasts, and chops.. 1959. Ithaca, N.Y.. English. Barbara Jean Francis. Apgar. 63363988 .
  5. Book: Apgar, Barbara Jean Francis. Separation of E. coli leucine-acceptor RNAs.. 1964. Ithaca, N.Y.. English. 693121271.
  6. Holley. Robert W.. Apgar. Jean. Everett. George A.. Madison. James T.. Marquisee. Mark. Merrill. Susan H.. Penswick. John Robert. Zamir. Ada. 1965. Structure of a Ribonucleic Acid. Science. 147. 3664. 1462–1465. 10.1126/science.147.3664.1462. 1715055. 14263761. 1965Sci...147.1462H . 40989800. 0036-8075.
  7. Web site: Robert W. Holley Biography. 2021-10-27. USDA ARS.
  8. Apgar. B. Jean. 1968. Mountain Climbing in a Laboratory. Yearbook of Agriculture. 307–310.
  9. News: 1973-03-01. Scientist Jean Apgar Wins Another Honor. 23. The Ithaca Journal. 2021-10-27. Newspapers.com.
  10. Jones. Dorothy B.. April–June 1970. The Tenth Annual Federal Woman's Award. Civil Service Journal. 10. 25.
  11. Apgar. Jean. Cox. Nancy. Downey. Irene. Fenton. Faith. 1959-12-01. Cooking Pork Electronically1. Effect on Cooking Time, Losses, and Quality. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. en. 35. 12. 1260–1269. 10.1016/S0002-8223(21)17954-4. 239492499. 0002-8223.
  12. Nucleotide and Oligonucleotide Compositions of the Alanine-, Valine-, and Tyrosine-Acceptor "Soluble" Ribonucleic Acids of Yeast. 10.1021/ja01484a040. 1961. Holley. Robert W.. Apgar. Jean. Merrill. Susan H.. Zubkoff. Paul L.. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 83. 23. 4861–4862.
  13. Apgar, J., Holley, R. W., & Merrill, S. H. (1962). "Purification of the alanine-, valine-, histidine-, and tyrosine-acceptor ribonucleic acids from yeast" Journal of Biological Chemistry, 237(3), 796-802.
  14. Apgar. J. 1968-07-01. Effect of zinc deficiency on parturition in the rat. American Journal of Physiology. Legacy Content. 215. 1. 160–163. 10.1152/ajplegacy.1968.215.1.160. 5659329. 0002-9513.
  15. Apgar. Jean. 1992-06-01. Zinc and reproduction: an update. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. en. 3. 6. 266–278. 10.1016/0955-2863(92)90032-E. 0955-2863.
  16. Apgar. Jean. Fitzgerald. James A.. 1985-06-01. Effect on the Ewe and Lamb of Low Zinc Intake throughout Pregnancy. Journal of Animal Science. 60. 6. 1530–1538. 10.2527/jas1985.6061530x. 4019343. 0021-8812.
  17. Apgar. Jean. 1970-04-01. Effect of Zinc Deficiency on Maintenance of Pregnancy in the Rat. The Journal of Nutrition. 100. 4. 470–476. 10.1093/jn/100.4.470. 5439355. 0022-3166. free.
  18. Doctor, B. P., Apgar, J., & Holley, R. W. (1961). "Fractionation of yeast amino acid-acceptor ribonucleic acids by countercurrent distribution" Journal of Biological Chemistry, 236(4), 1117-1120.
  19. Apgar. Jean. 1971-12-01. Effect of a Low Zinc Diet during Gestation on Reproduction in the Rabbit. Journal of Animal Science. 33. 6. 1255–1258. 10.2527/jas1971.3361255x. 5169341. 0021-8812.
  20. Apgar. Jean. 1972-03-01. Effect of Zinc Deprivation from Day 12, 15, or 18 of Gestation on Parturition in the Rat. The Journal of Nutrition. 102. 3. 343–347. 10.1093/jn/102.3.343. 5061028. 0022-3166.
  21. Apgar. Jean. 1973-07-01. Effect of Zinc Repletion Late in Gestation on Parturition in the Zinc-deficient Rat. The Journal of Nutrition. 103. 7. 973–981. 10.1093/jn/103.7.973. 4716196. 0022-3166. free.
  22. Apgar. Jean. Aspros. Douglas. Hixon. James E.. Saatman. Raymond R.. Hansel. William. 1975-10-01. Effect of Restricted Feed Intake on the Sensitivity of the Bovine Corpus Luteum to LH In Vitro. Journal of Animal Science. 41. 4. 1120–1123. 10.2527/jas1975.4141120x. 1176368. 0021-8812.
  23. Schwartz. R. Apgar. B J. Wien. E M. 1986-03-01. Apparent absorption and retention of Ca, Cu, Mg, Mn, and Zn from a diet containing bran. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 43. 3. 444–455. 10.1093/ajcn/43.3.444. 3006472. 0002-9165. free.
  24. Apgar. Jean. Kramer. T. R.. Smith. J. Cecil. 1995-04-01. Marginal vitamin A intake during pregnancy in Guinea pigs: effect on immune parameters in neonate. Nutrition Research. en. 15. 4. 545–554. 10.1016/0271-5317(95)00022-4. 0271-5317.
  25. Apgar. J. Makdani. D. Sowell. A L. Gunter. E W. Hegar. A. Potts. W. Rao. D. Wilcox. A. Smith. J C. 1996-11-01. Serum carotenoid concentrations and their reproducibility in children in Belize. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 64. 5. 726–730. 10.1093/ajcn/64.5.726. 8901792. 0002-9165. free.
  26. House. William A.. Apgar. Jean. Smith. J. Cecil. 1997-08-01. The gerbil: A model for studying the metabolism of beta-carotene and minerals. Nutrition Research. en. 17. 8. 1293–1302. 10.1016/S0271-5317(97)00113-9. 0271-5317.
  27. News: 1985-10-21. Obituary for Michael A. Apgar (Aged 25). 5. The Ithaca Journal. 2021-10-28. Newspapers.com.

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