Zola Cooper
American medical researcher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zola Katharine Cooper (September 10, 1904 – October 23, 1954) was an American dermatologist, cancer researcher, and medical school professor, based in St. Louis, Missouri.
September 10, 1904
Zola Cooper | |
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| Born | Zola Katharine Cooper September 10, 1904 Richview, Illinois |
| Died | October 23, 1954 (aged 50) St. Louis, Missouri |
| Occupations | Dermatologist, medical school professor |
| Years active | 1930s-1950s |
Early life
Zola Cooper was born in Richview, Illinois, the daughter of William P. Cooper Jr.[1] and Rose Elliott.[2] She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) in 1925, and continued at the same school for her master's degree in 1926, and her Ph.D. in 1929.[3]
Career
Cooper was a dermatologist,[4] cancer researcher and pathologist at the Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Hospital.[5][6] She studied the structural changes of skin exposed to radiation,[7] and the effect of hormones on hair growth and distribution.[8] In 1940, she joined the faculty at her alma mater's School of Medicine to teach pathology courses. From 1947 to 1949, while her mother was living in Oklahoma City,[2] she was an assistant professor of histology at the University of Oklahoma's medical school.[9] In 1949 she was made an assistant professor of pathology at WashU.[3][10] She also spoke to community groups about cancer and other topics.[11][12][13]
Her research was published in Archives of Dermatology,[14] The American Journal of Anatomy,[15] The American Journal of Cancer,[16] Journal of the National Cancer Institute,[17] Cancer Research,[18] and Experimental Biology and Medicine.[19] She contributed a chapter on skin for the textbook Cowdry's Problems of Ageing (1952).[20]
Personal life and legacy
Cooper died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1954, aged 50 years, at her home in St. Louis.[10][21] The annual Zola Cooper Seminar is named in her memory,[22][23] and promotes learning in clinical dermatology and dermatopathology.[24][25]
