Janet McCarter Woolley (March 4, 1906 – January 28, 1996) was an American bacteriologist. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1944, for her work in immunology.
Early life and education Janet Ruth McCarter was born in 1906 in Duluth, Minnesota, the daughter of William and Mary Blackburn McCarter. She briefly attended Carleton College, and earned three degrees (Bachelor of Science in 1930, Master of Science in 1931, and Ph.D. in 1933) at the University of Wisconsin. As a doctoral student, she worked with professor E. G. Hastings on tubercule bacilli, which became the focus of her own work for decades."All Reactors Not Affected Study Shows" Manitowoc Herald-Times (April 27, 1932): 9. via Newspapers.com
Career In 1944, while she was an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin,Janet McCarter and E. G. Hastings, "The Presence of Avian Tubercle Bacilli in Apparently Pure Cultures of Diphtheroids" Journal of Infectious Diseases 64(3)(May–June 1939): 297-301.Dorothy M. Powelson and Janet R. McCarter, "The Cultivation of Human Tubercle Bacilli on Egg Mediums" Journal of Infectious Diseases 75(1)(July–August 1944): 95-101. Janet McCarter was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her work in immunology, especially as applied to tuberculosis."Janet McCarter Woolley" John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, directory of Guggenheim Fellows."The Award of Guggenheim Fellowships for 1944" Science 99(2572)(April 14, 1944): 301-302. That year, more women were awarded Guggenheim Fellowships than in any previous year; Henry Allen Moe, secretary of the Guggenheim Foundation, assured reporters that "It's not due to the war and the fact that there are fewer men. These women would have received fellowships if they had applied in a year when there was no war.""Women Cop Guggenheim Awards" Muncie Morning Star (May 23, 1944): 7. via Newspapers.com
Publications by Janet McCarter included: (with E. G. Hastings) "Misnamed Cultures and Studies of the Tubercle Bacillus" Science (1932)E. G. Hastings and Janet McCarter, "Misnamed Cultures and Studies of the Tubercle Bacillus" Science 75(1950)(May 13, 1932): 513-515. (with E. G. Hastings) "The Morphology of the Mycobacteria" Journal of Bacteriology (1934)Janet McCarter and E. G. Hastings, "The Morphology of the Mycobacteria" Journal of Bacteriology 29(5)(1934): 503-513. "New Knowledge to Fight Germ of Boils and Food Poisoning" The Science News-Letter (1937)Janet McCarter, "New Knowledge to Fight Germ of Boils and Food Poisoning" The Science News-Letter 31(821)(January 2, 1937): 7, 12-13. (with E. G. Hastings), "The Presence of Avian Tubercle Bacilli in Apparently Pure Cultures of Diphtheroids" Journal of Infectious Diseases (1939)Janet McCarter and E. G. Hastings, "The Presence of Avian Tubercle Bacilli in Apparently Pure Cultures of Diphtheroids" Journal of Infectious Diseases 64(3)(May–June 1939): 297-301. (with Elizabeth M. Kanne), "Egg Mediums for the Isolation of All Three Types of Tubercle Bacilli" Journal of Infectious Diseases (1942)"Egg Mediums for the Isolation of All Three Types of Tubercle Bacilli" Journal of Infectious Diseases 71(2)(September–October 1942): 102-105. (with Dorothy M. Powelson), "The Cultivation of Human Tubercle Bacilli on Egg Mediums" Journal of Infectious Diseases (1944)Dorothy M. Powelson and Janet McCarter, "The Cultivation of Human Tubercle Bacilli on Egg Mediums" Journal of Infectious Diseases 75(1)(July–August 1944): 95-101.
Janet McCarter married a colleague, biochemical researcher Dilworth Wayne Woolley, in 1945,Gaynor C. Wild and John G. Hildebrand, "Dilworth W. Woolley, 1914-1966: A Biographical Memoir" National Academy of Sciences (2014). and collaborated with him on projects, and "played an essential role in his work"."Dr. D. Wayne Woolley Dies" Braille Monitor, p. 3 (November 1966).Gaynor C. Wild and John G. Hildebrand, "Dilworth W. Woolley, 1914-1966: A Biographical Memoir" National Academy of Sciences (2014). In particular, Dr. McCarter Woolley read scientific articles aloud for her husband, who was blind.Thomas H. Jukes, "Dilworth Wayne Woolley, 1914-1966, A Biographical Sketch" Journal of Nutrition 104(1974): 509-511.
Personal life Janet McCarter Woolley was widowed in 1966,"Dr. D. Wayne Woolley Dies" Braille Monitor (November 1966). and died in 1996, age 89, in Bountiful, Utah."Janet McCarter Woolley" Deseret News (January 30, 1996): D7.
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