Olga Raissa Povitzky (December 24, 1877 – May 21, 1948), also seen as Olga Povitsky, was a Russian-born American physician and bacteriologist with the New York Health Department; she also worked at a field hospital in France during World War I.
Olga Povitzky was born in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire. She moved to the United States in 1893 [1] to live with her brother Charles, who was a druggist in Philadelphia. [2] Her sister Anna Pavitt Boudin became a prominent dentist in New York. [3] Her niece, Eleanor Osborne-Hill, was a lawyer and sculptor. [4]
Povitzky graduated from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1901; she and her fellow graduate, Dora Chatterjee, were highlighted in news reports of the graduation. [5] [6] In 1905, she completed a doctorate in public health at New York University. [7]
Povitzky was a bacteriologist for the New York Health Department for almost forty years, beginning in 1910. [8] [9] In 1914, she joined Anna Wessels Williams for a study of trachoma in New York City schoolchildren. [10] During World War I, she went to France to serve in a women-run field hospital, organized as the Women's Medical Unit for Foreign Service and sponsored by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). [11] [12] While in France, she received specialized training at the Pasteur Institute, in the treatment of gas gangrene; she also worked at a laboratory in Le Mans. [7]
Back in New York, Povitzky worked on diphtheria antitoxin production. In 1923, she collaborated with Josephine Neal in developing a serum to cure meningitis, in a health department laboratory at Willard Parker Hospital. [13] She published her research in academic journals, including Science, [14] Archives of Internal Medicine, [15] The Journal of Infectious Diseases, [16] Journal of Immunology, [17] [18] Experimental Biology and Medicine, [19] and American Journal of Public Health. [20] She also lectured on public health topics. [7]
Povitzky designed the Povitzky Bottle, a flat-sided Pyrex glass vessel used for culturing poliovirus. [7] [21]
Povitzky became a United States citizen in 1904. [7] She died in 1948, in Moores Mill, Pleasant Valley, New York, aged 71 years. [26]
Olga Raissa Povitzky (December 24, 1877 – May 21, 1948), also seen as Olga Povitsky, was a Russian-born American physician and bacteriologist with the New York Health Department; she also worked at a field hospital in France during World War I.
Olga Povitzky was born in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire. She moved to the United States in 1893 [1] to live with her brother Charles, who was a druggist in Philadelphia. [2] Her sister Anna Pavitt Boudin became a prominent dentist in New York. [3] Her niece, Eleanor Osborne-Hill, was a lawyer and sculptor. [4]
Povitzky graduated from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1901; she and her fellow graduate, Dora Chatterjee, were highlighted in news reports of the graduation. [5] [6] In 1905, she completed a doctorate in public health at New York University. [7]
Povitzky was a bacteriologist for the New York Health Department for almost forty years, beginning in 1910. [8] [9] In 1914, she joined Anna Wessels Williams for a study of trachoma in New York City schoolchildren. [10] During World War I, she went to France to serve in a women-run field hospital, organized as the Women's Medical Unit for Foreign Service and sponsored by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). [11] [12] While in France, she received specialized training at the Pasteur Institute, in the treatment of gas gangrene; she also worked at a laboratory in Le Mans. [7]
Back in New York, Povitzky worked on diphtheria antitoxin production. In 1923, she collaborated with Josephine Neal in developing a serum to cure meningitis, in a health department laboratory at Willard Parker Hospital. [13] She published her research in academic journals, including Science, [14] Archives of Internal Medicine, [15] The Journal of Infectious Diseases, [16] Journal of Immunology, [17] [18] Experimental Biology and Medicine, [19] and American Journal of Public Health. [20] She also lectured on public health topics. [7]
Povitzky designed the Povitzky Bottle, a flat-sided Pyrex glass vessel used for culturing poliovirus. [7] [21]
Povitzky became a United States citizen in 1904. [7] She died in 1948, in Moores Mill, Pleasant Valley, New York, aged 71 years. [26]