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Dr. Kirschstein became chief of the Division of Biologics Standards (DBS) Laboratory of Pathology in 1961. She was promoted to assistant director of the Division of Biologics Standards in 1972. When DBS moved administratively to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Kirschstein became the deputy director of what then became called the FDA Bureau of Biologics.
From 1974 until 1993, she was the Director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). In her role as As Director of NIGMS, she worked tirelessly to expand the ranks of women and minorities in science at NIH and elsewhere. She did so likely in response to the unfairness discrimination she had experienced as a female scientist. She was one of ten women in her medical school class of 110 at Tulane. When she was a pathologist at the NIH she had to fight for her promotions, being turned down twice for a promotion to the GS-15 rank/salary. Because she was a married woman, the men in administrative roles didn’t feel that she needed the raise since her husband also worked. Dr. Kirschstein did not give up and received the promotion on her third try. She also fought for promotions for her minority lab technicians like George Rusten. DrDr. Kirschstein was a champion of minorities in the sciences throughout her career, but especially when she led NIGMS. She received an award from the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools in 1988 at a ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia. She also received the Geraldine P. Woods Award in 2002 and she was praised for that acknowledged her leadership, dedication, and commitment to the research training of minorities while at the head of NIGMS and NIH.
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Dr. Kirschstein was the recipient of numerous awards and several honorary degrees during her illustrious career. Two of the awards that she was most proud of are highlighted belowon this page. In 1985, Dr. Kirschstein was given presented the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executives, the highest rank a Federal senior executive can receive. She and her husband visited the White House where she received the award from President Ronald Reagan. In 1993, Dr. Kirschstein received the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s Public Service Award. The quote at the top of this page is from her acceptance speech and summarizes her feelings about the honor.
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