Elizabeth Hazen & Rachel Brown. The Invisible Heroes of Science

Written by Margot Cleverly

In the mid-20th century, two American scientists achieved a breakthrough that changed medicine forever. Elizabeth Hazen and Rachel Brown created the first effective antifungal drug, saving the lives of millions.

Paths to Science

Elizabeth Hazen lost her parents when she was just four years old. She was raised by relatives in Mississippi, where access to education for women was severely limited. In the 1890s, few believed that girls needed higher education. Hazen thought differently – in 1910, she graduated from Mississippi University for Women, earning a degree in natural sciences.

While working as a biology teacher, she continued her studies during summer breaks. This was the only path to advancement for women in her situation – the male-dominated scientific community did not open doors easily. In 1927, after years of effort, she received her doctorate in microbiology from Columbia University. She became one of the first women with this degree from that prestigious institution.

Rachel Brown was born thirteen years later in Massachusetts. When she was fourteen, her father abandoned the family, leaving mother and daughter without means of support. A friend of her grandmother recognized the girl’s potential and financed her education at Mount Holyoke College. Brown graduated with degrees in chemistry and history in 1920, during an era when women were a minority at technical universities.

Further studies at the University of Chicago were interrupted by financial problems. Brown had to work for seven years in a state laboratory before she could return and complete her doctorate. Such an interrupted educational path was typical for women scientists of that time – few had the privilege of uninterrupted studies.

Collaboration Through Correspondence

In the 1940s, fungal infections posed a serious medical problem without an effective solution. Antibiotics like penicillin were revolutionizing the treatment of bacterial infections, but remained powerless against fungi. The New York State Department of Health decided to systematically search soil for microorganisms with antifungal properties.

Hazen worked in a laboratory in New York City, examining soil samples and culturing the microorganisms found within them. Brown sat in Albany, two hundred kilometers away, where she handled the chemical analysis of materials sent to her. Their collaboration was based on exchanging letters and postal shipments – in the era before the internet and rapid communication, this was the only way to work together at a distance.

The process was tedious and monotonous. Hazen tested hundreds of samples, most of which showed no desired properties. Each promising sample went to Brown, who isolated the chemical substances and checked their safety. Many compounds proved either ineffective or too toxic for the human body.

In 1948, Hazen received a soil sample from her friend’s dairy farm. She found a bacterium in it that produced two different antifungal substances. The first proved fatally toxic to laboratory mice. The second worked effectively without harming the animals. After two years of research and testing, they knew they had a breakthrough.

A Drug That Changed Medicine

The substance named nystatin – after New York State – was the first antifungal antibiotic safe for humans. Before its discovery, patients with severe fungal infections had little chance of survival. Treatment was limited to diets, ointments, and hope that the body would deal with the infection on its own.

Nystatin changed this situation radically. The drug effectively combated candidiasis, one of the most common fungal infections in humans. Patients with weakened immune systems, people after antibiotic therapy, infants – all gained an effective weapon against dangerous infections. In the first year after its market introduction in 1954, the drug generated over $135,000 in revenue.

Nystatin’s applications extended far beyond medicine. Conservators used it to save works of art damaged by mold. Gardeners applied it to fight Dutch elm disease, which was decimating trees in American cities. One chemical compound found use in fields its discoverers had not initially considered.

The patent for nystatin was not granted until 1957, after six and a half years of testing and procedures. The process was lengthened by FDA requirements for animal and human studies. In that era, regulations regarding new drugs were just being established, and each case created a precedent for future discoveries.

Money for Science, Not for Themselves

Royalties from nystatin eventually exceeded $13 million. Hazen and Brown could have lived in luxury for the rest of their lives. They chose otherwise – they donated the entire amount to the Research Corporation foundation. This was an unprecedented decision in the world of science, where commercialization of discoveries was becoming increasingly common.

Half the money went to research grants for young scientists. The other half was managed by the Brown-Hazen Fund, a specially created fund supporting women in science and biomedical research. In the 1950s and 1960s, women still constituted a minority in laboratories, and access to research funding was much more difficult for them than for men.

Both scientists continued working even after retirement. Hazen conducted further experiments on nystatin applications, Brown engaged in charitable activities and was the first woman on the board of her parish. Their approach to scientific careers was typical for their generation – work until the end, without fanfare, without expecting awards.

Recognition came gradually. In 1955, they received the Squibb Award in chemotherapy. In 1975 – the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists. The most important distinction came posthumously – in 1994, they were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame as the second and third women in the institution’s history.

Brown died in 1980 at the age of 81. Hazen passed away five years earlier, in 1975. Their discovery outlived them by decades – nystatin remains one of the fundamental antifungal drugs in medicine today. The story of two women who exchanged letters and soil samples, and created a drug that saved millions of lives.

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Margot Cleverly

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Margot's journey into women's history began with a box of forgotten letters in a Cambridge archive – suffragettes whose voices had been silenced for over a century. Since then, she's been on a mission to uncover the stories history overlooked.

What she writes about: Queens who ruled from the shadows. Scientists whose male colleagues took credit. Revolutionaries who risked everything. But also ordinary women – those who survived wars, raised families through upheaval, and shaped their communities in ways no one bothered to record.

Margot turns historical figures into real people. She writes with warmth and detail, making centuries-old stories feel surprisingly relevant. Rigorous research meets accessible storytelling – no dusty academic jargon, just compelling narratives backed by solid facts.

When she's not writing, you'll find her in regional archives, collecting oral histories, or visiting sites connected to the women she writes about.