Mrs. Daniello

A physical chemist, researcher and foremost expert in crystallography, Dr. Franklin’s renown grew out of the two years she spent conducting research at King’s College London in the early 1950s, as scientists across the globe raced to discover the structure of DNA. Working in a laboratory environment less than collegial to female scientists and often in isolation, Dr. Franklin patiently struggled to prove the structure through mathematical computations and to capture the B form of DNA through more than 100 hours of photographic exposure. While her Photo 51 and related data were integral to the 1953 discovery and description of the double helix structure of DNA, her contribution went largely unrecognized for nearly 50 years. 

The story of Dr. Franklin who, despite gender disparity and discrimination, relentlessly pursued the answers to questions that have improved health and longevity around the world, speaks to new generations who take up the struggle for equality and improved well-being. Her perseverance and determination in the face of entrenched injustice offers hope to underrepresented groups across the academy, across STEM, across countries and economies that continue to fight for parity in compensation, advancement and recognition.