Chemist and Entrepreneur
Percy Lavon Julian (April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975) was a chemist and entrepreneur.
FAST FACTS:
He overcame huge racial barriers at the time because his grandparents were enslaved.
Best known for his work in medicine affordability, he discovered how to synthesize plants in bulk to produce medical compounds for patients.
More specifically, he was synthesizing steroids from plant compounds. He worked alongside notable scientists at the time, such as Russell Marker and Carl Djerassi.
Coming from humble origins in Montgomery, Alabama, his academic and scientific success through his hard work led to many opportunities – he was offered a scholarship to Harvard to complete his masters in organic chemistry and he taught at other universities afterwards
At DePauw University, alongside his colleague Josef Pikl, he conducted the first total synthesis of physostigmine. This was monumental because it was used at the end of the 20h century to treat glaucoma.
With his research, he was able to make physostigmine more available for patients with glaucoma, increasing the rate of patients being cured for the disease.
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