Alice Ball

           Since ancient times, leprosy has been viewed as one of the worst thing anyone count contract. Lepers were seen as unclean and were ostracized. Before the mid-1900s, leprosy was only vaguely understood. Leprosy (now called Hansen’s disease) is caused by a bacterial infection. Despite it's reputation, it's not as contagious as the stories make it out to be. It is spread mainly when fluids from the nose are shared or by breathing in the bacteria. Symptoms, which includes scaly skin, numbness, blindness, and paralysis, can appear anywhere from two to twenty years after first contracting the disease. Anyone who had leprosy were treated as lost causes. There seemed to be no hope for anyone with this disease. However, one woman came along and made an amazing discovery.

Alice Ball completely changed how we treated leprosy. She was born in 1892. Her parents were extremely supportive of Alice’s love for science. She eventually earned degrees in chemistry and pharmacy from the University of Washington. After this, Alice moved to Hawaii, where she was the first woman and the first African-America to be accepted into the graduate program. At the time, lepers were sent to one of the Hawaiian islands called Molokai. Lepers were treated with oil made from the seeds of the chaulmoogra tree. This treatment only offered some relief. If it was ingested, it would cause stomach pains. If it was placed on the skin, there was no effect. If it was injected, it would just burn under the skin. Chaulmoogra oil is very hard to inject into someone because it was so thick and it didn’t mix well with water.

Alice’s mentor, Dr. Harry Hollmann, asked if she would be interested in trying to make chaulmoogra oil more soluble so it could be injected. This has plagued scientists for centuries, but Alice managed to find a way. Alice figured out a way to isolate ethyl esters in the fatty acids. It could then be easily mixed with water and safely injected. Her research had a tremendous effect. This was the first reasonable cure for leprosy the world has seen. Seventy-eight of the lepers were healed to such an extent, they were allowed to go home. People who just caught leprosy didn’t have to be sent to Molokai. Alice’s cure, dubbed the Ball method, continued to be used until the 1940s. Current treatments involves a heavy antibiotic regimen that can last anywhere from six months to two years.

Here comes the sad part of this story. Alice died at the young age of 24 before she could publish her results. The president of the university, Arthur Dean, decided to continue her work. He eventually published his own research without crediting Alice! The betrayal! Dr. Hollmann argued against him, and tried to give Alice the credit she deserved. It wasn’t until 2000 when she was finally recognized for her treatment. Today, she is properly remembered as a pioneer of chemistry.

The story of Alice Ball is bittersweet. We have this incredibly smart, talented woman. Her research benefited so many people, and yet all her hard work was snatched away from her. It took about eighty years until she was credited with the Ball method! Unfortunately, she is not the only woman whose work was taken without credit. Thankfully, we live in a day and age where women are encouraged in their scientific explorations. There’s still some challenges out there, but that hasn’t stopped us. We the opportunity to show the world exactly what we’re capable of.

 

Sources

“Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World,” written and illustreated by Rachel Ignotofsky

Articles on Alice Ball: http://www.blackpast.org/aaw/ball-alice-augusta-1892-1916

https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/1837

https://blue-stocking.org.uk/2016/02/29/alice-ball-and-the-fight-against-leprosy/

Leprosy: https://www.cdc.gov/leprosy/index.html