Biochemist

Bio

Watch Ida S. Owens, Ph.D., Head, Section on Genetic Disorders of Drug Metabolism, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, share how her early passion for reading and love of biology led to a lifelong biomedical research career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Her lab focuses their research on the genetics of enzymes that help to rid the body of toxins and poisons in the cell. In 1967, she became the first African American to get a doctorate in science from Duke University. Her advice to girls is "Go for it!"