2. Gerty Cori
Hailing from the Czech Republic, Gerty and her husband immigrated to the US in 1922. When they got there, they started medical research and discovered the Cori cycle. This cycle demonstrates how the body uses chemical reactions to turn the carbs in muscle tissue into lactic acid and remetabolizes it. The couple discovered the catalyst known as the Cori ester. Gerty also studied glycogen storage disease on her own and became the first person to show that enzyme defects can cause diseases in humans. In 1947, it earned her a Nobel Prize alongside her husband, making her the first woman to win the award in the medicine category.
