Dr. Carol W. Greider is a molecular biologist who has made strides in research around cell division and chromosomal structures. Her research plays a large part in understanding cancer, and researching for cures! She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for her research. Dr. Greider was the twelfth woman ever to earn the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine since the Prize was created 1901!
Before achieving great things in her adulthood, Carol Greider was an ordinary kid who grew up in Davis, California. The only thing that separated her from her peers was her dyslexia diagnosis.
Dr. Carol W. Greider was born in 1961 to two scientists. When she was in high school, she did not have her sights set completely on following her parents footsteps. In fact, it wasn’t until obtaining a degree in biology that she discovered her love and interest in science.
When I was in elementary school I was considered a poor speller and somebody who couldn’t sound out words, so I was taken into remedial classes. I remember having a tutor come down and take me out of class and bring me to a different room. It certainly felt like I wasn’t as good as the other kids.
Dr. Carol W. Greider
Dr. Greider has spoken about her grades versus her standardized test scores. She was thankful to University of California – Berkeley for extending her an opportunity to interview for their program, instead of judging her academics off of her standardized tests. Dr. Greider states, “If U.C. Berkeley had done the same thing that many of the other schools did, which was to apply a cutoff, then I wouldn’t have gone to graduate school and made the discovery of telomerase and won the Nobel Prize.”
Here at Aspire, we are thankful for trailblazers like Dr. Greider for being candid about how dyslexia can both challenge and empower an individual. Her contributions to the world will make a difference for generations to come!