Dorothy Hansine Andersen

Who was Dorothy Hansine Andersen?

Dorothy Hansine Andersen was the American physician who was the first person to identify cystic fibrosis and the first American physician to describe the disease.

She received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in 1922, and her M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1926. She taught at the University of Rochester prior to joining the faculty of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, working at Babies Hospital, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York. She developed a diagnostic test of cystic fibrosis in the 1940s, and also contributed to training heart surgeons and to the study of nutrition.

Andersen died from lung cancer on March 3, 1963 in New York City.

She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2002 for her scientific work.