Julia Tutelman Apter Explained

Julia E Tutelman Apter
Birth Name:Julia Tutelman
Birth Date:April 7, 1918[1]
Death Date:April 16, 1979[2]
Death Place:Chicago, IL
Education:University of Pennsylvania
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Northwestern University; Ph.D. in mathematical biology University of Chicago 1964
Occupation:surgeon and opthamalogist
Employer:Professor of Surgery, Rush Medical College
Organization:Rush Medical College, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Biomedical Engineering Society
Known For:Mapping visual pathways, motor control, activism against sexism in biomedical research

Julia Tutelman Apter (1918-1979) was an ophthalmologist, neurophysiologist, and engineer who was also known for her activism to support women in science.

Education and career

Apter received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1939. She earned an M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1943.[3] She then received her M.S. from Northwestern University in 1959, and a Ph.D. in 1964 from the University of Chicago. Apter worked at multiple institutions including Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University.[4] She was a professor of surgery at the University of Illinois, and later became a professor of ophthalmology at Rush Medical College.[5] She established a practice in ophthalmology in Chicago around 1976.

Apter was a founding member of the Biomedical Engineering Society.[6] Apter proposed the idea of a Committee on Professional Opportunities for Women to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and encouraged Thelma Estrin to join the committee.[7] [8]

Apter died in 1979 in Chicago of ovarian cancer.[2]

Research

She was one of the first specialists in neurophysiological research when she published her anatomical and functional mapping of the cat visual cortex in 1945.[9] She is known for her work on how the reflex circuit of the eye operates,[10] and she examined physical properties of the circulatory system.[11] A portion of her work combined neuroscience with mathematical principles,[12] and she worked on improving medical and scientific education and published about ways for medical students to use computer simulations of biological systems as part of their education.[13] Apter's research included investigations into LSD and how it stimulates the human eye to produce visual images.[14] Using cats as a model system, she detailed how LSD reversed potential overdoses of sleeping pills.[15] [16]

Advocacy

Apter also actively worked to improve opportunities for women in science. In the early 1970s, Apter raised concerns about the lack of women on panels charged with reviewing applications for grant funding in the United States.[17] [18] Apter herself was informed that she was not welcome on review panels because of her work advocating for women.[19] One of her colleagues noted that Apter was not always easy to get along with, and at one point Apter was locked out of her office during a disagreement with the administration at her hospital.[20]

Apter was a lead plaintiff in an unsuccessful 1973 class action suit, Apter v. Richardson.[21]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Who's who of American women : a biographical dictionary of notable living American women 1961-1962" . 2023-03-26.
  2. 1979-10-19 . Obituaries . JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association . en . 242 . 16 . 1795 . 10.1001/jama.1979.03300160067040 . 0098-7484.
  3. Web site: Female Graduates · Celebrating the Philanthropy of Mary Elizabeth Garrett · Exhibits: The Sheridan Libraries and Museums .
  4. March 1972 . Contributors . IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering . BME-19 . 2 . 169–172 . 10.1109/TBME.1972.324065 . 1558-2531.
  5. News: 1979-04-18 . Dr. Julia Apter, Ophthalmologist And Researcher, 61, in Chicago . 2024-05-05 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  6. Book: Celebrating 35 years of Biomedical Engineering: An Historical Perspective . . 2004 . Fagette Jr. . Paul H. . Landover, MD . 4 . Horner . Patricia I..
  7. Book: Nebeker, Frederik . Sparks of genius : portraits of electrical engineering excellence . 1994 . New York . Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers . 978-0-7803-1033-9 . 222.
  8. Web site: 2022-03-04 . Oral-History:Thelma Estrin (2002) . 2024-05-05 . ETHW . en.
  9. Apter . Julia T. . 1945-03-01 . Projection of the Retina on Superior Colliculus of Cats . Journal of Neurophysiology . en . 8 . 2 . 123–134 . 10.1152/jn.1945.8.2.123 . 0022-3077.
  10. Book: The Scientific Monthly . 1949 . American Association for the Advancement of Science . 69 . 373 . English . 6.
  11. Apter . Julia T. . Rabinowitz . Murray . Cummings . Dorothy H. . 1966 . Correlation of Visco-elastic Properties of Large Arteries with Microscopic Structure . Circulation Research . en . 19 . 1 . 104–121 . 10.1161/01.RES.19.1.104 . 0009-7330.
  12. Apter . Julia T. . 1966-08-01 . Mathematics in Medicine and the Life Sciences . JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association . en . 197 . 5 . 376 . 10.1001/jama.1966.03110050114039 . 0098-7484.
  13. Apter . Julia T. . 1970 . The analog computer as a teaching aid in medical practice and research . Computers in Biology and Medicine . en . 1 . 2 . 133–140 . 10.1016/0010-4825(70)90005-3. 5524556 .
  14. News: 1956-12-25 . Dims Hope of Drug as 'Schizo' Aid . 2024-05-05 . Des Moines Tribune . 4.
  15. News: McCormack . Patricia . 1958-04-15 . New Drug Offers Cancer Control . 2024-05-05 . Deseret News . 6.
  16. Apter . Julia T. . 1958-06-01 . Analeptic Action of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD-25) Against Pentobarbital . Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry . en . 79 . 6 . 711–715 . 10.1001/archneurpsyc.1958.02340060109015 . 13532082 . 0096-6754.
  17. News: Landau . Jack C. . 1972-04-19 . Women scientists accuse U.S. agency of discrimination . 2024-05-05 . Des Moines Tribune . 16.
  18. Web site: Gilluly . Richard H. . 1972-10-07 . The 'Unveiling' of Science Committees Science News . 2024-05-05 . Science News . en-US.
  19. News: Kramer . Carol . 1973-01-10 . 'Found women' aim to lose wrong image . 2024-05-05 . Chicago Tribune . 39.
  20. Book: Schwartz, Neena B. . A lab of my own . 2010 . Amsterdam ; New York . Rodopi . 978-90-420-2737-4 . 222.
  21. June 15, 1973 . Women Score Victory in N.I.H. suit . The Spokeswoman . 3 . 12.
  22. Book: Jasanoff, Sheila . Science at the bar : law, science, and technology in America . 1995 . Cambridge, MA. . Harvard University Press . 978-0-674-79303-3 . 96–97.
  23. Book: Charrow, Robert . Law In The Laboratory A Guide To The Ethics Of Federally Funded Science Research . The University of Chicago Press . 2010 . 31–32 . English.
  24. Book: United States. National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year . " ... to form a more perfect union ..." : justice for American women : report of the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year . 1976 . Washington : Dept. of State : For sale by the Supt. of Docs. . U.S. Govt. Print. Off. .
  25. D. . S. . 1971 . HEW Advisory Jobs to Go to Women . Science . 174 . 4006 . 271 . 10.1126/science.174.4006.271 . 1732158 . 17778054 . 1971Sci...174..271S . 0036-8075.
  26. Book: Rossiter, Margaret W. . Women Scientists in America: Forging a New World Since 1972 . 2012-04-02 . JHU Press . 978-1-4214-0233-8 . en.
  27. Julia T. Apter . Elliot L. Richardson . United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois . June 29, 1973 . https://cite.case.law/f-supp/361/1070/ .

    Web site: |access-date=2024-05-05 |website=cite.case.law}} Elliot Richardson] was the secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Apter was the spokesperson for the group of professional organizations involved in the suit. The case was initially dismissed when the court ruled she had no right to sue the government, but in 1973 she was given the right to sue.[21] Apter charged she was denied from the National Institutes of Health based on her gender and activism for women in science.[22] [23] Apter and colleagues demonstrated there were many highly qualified women who could serve on grant review committees and compiled lists of names and credentials that were subsequently used to select women for grant review roles.[24] While the suit was not successful, afterwards more women were placed on grant review committees who dispersed US funding for scientific research.[25] [26]

    References

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