Janet McCarter Woolley


Janet McCarter Woolley 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 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.

Career

In 1944, while she was an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin, Janet McCarter was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her work in immunology, especially as applied to tuberculosis. 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."
Publications by Janet McCarter included:
Janet McCarter married a colleague, biochemical researcher Dilworth Wayne Woolley, in 1945, and collaborated with him on projects, and "played an essential role in his work". In particular, Dr. McCarter Woolley read scientific articles aloud for her husband, who was blind.

Personal life

Janet McCarter Woolley was widowed in 1966, and died in 1996, age 89, in Bountiful, Utah.