Zola Cooper

Zola Cooper
Born	Zola Katharine Cooper September 10, 1904 Richview, Illinois
Died	October 23, 1954 St. Louis, Missouri
Occupation(s)	Dermatologist, medical school professor
Years active	1930s-1950s

Zola Katharine Cooper (September 10, 1904 – October 23, 1954) was an American dermatologist, cancer researcher, and medical school professor, based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Early life

Zola Cooper was born in Richview, Illinois, the daughter of William P. Cooper Jr.[1] and Rose Elliott.[2] She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) in 1925, and continued at the same school for her master's degree in 1926, and her Ph.D. in 1929.[3]

Career

Cooper was a dermatologist,[4] cancer researcher and pathologist at the Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Hospital.[5][6] She studied the structural changes of skin exposed to radiation,[7] and the effect of hormones on hair growth and distribution.[8] In 1940, she joined the faculty at her alma mater's School of Medicine to teach pathology courses. From 1947 to 1949, while her mother was living in Oklahoma City,[2] she was an assistant professor of histology at the University of Oklahoma's medical school.[9] In 1949 she was made an assistant professor of pathology at WashU.[3][10] She also spoke to community groups about cancer and other topics.[11][12][13]

Her research was published in Archives of Dermatology,[14] The American Journal of Anatomy,[15] The American Journal of Cancer,[16] Journal of the National Cancer Institute,[17] Cancer Research,[18] and Experimental Biology and Medicine.[19] She contributed a chapter on skin for the textbook Cowdry's Problems of Ageing (1952).[20]

Personal life and legacy

Cooper died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1954, aged 50 years, at her home in St. Louis.[10][21] The annual Zola Cooper Seminar is named in her memory,[22][23] and promotes learning in clinical dermatology and dermatopathology.[24][25]

References

1. "Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 - 1970". Missouri Digital Heritage. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
2. "Rose Elliott". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1948-05-04. p. 26. Retrieved 2021-03-25 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Biographies - Zola K. Cooper". Missouri Women in the Health Sciences. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
4. Palmer, Alice E. (December 1978). "Women Dermatologists on the North American Continent: An Overview". International Journal of Dermatology. 17 (10): 808–822. doi:10.1111/j.1365-4362.1978.tb05985.x. ISSN 0011-9059. PMID 365802. S2CID 34608979.
5. "Urges Public Education of Cancer Treatment". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1944-04-06. p. 11. Retrieved 2021-03-25 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Barnard to Study Skin Cancer". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1940-01-23. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-03-25 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Rhythm in Division of Skin Cells Found by Barnard Hospital Research". The St. Louis Star and Times. 1940-01-23. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-03-25 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Fishbein, Morris (July 8, 1930). "Daily Health Service". Jefferson City Post Tribune. p. 4. Retrieved March 24, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
9. "Cancer Research Grants". The McIntosh County Democrat. 1948-06-24. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-03-25 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Lane, Clinton W. (1955-05-01). "ZOLA K. COOPER, Ph.D. 1904-1954". Archives of Dermatology. 71 (5): 634. doi:10.1001/archderm.1955.01540290074017. ISSN 0003-987X.
11. "Cancer an Old Disease; Dr. Zola Cooper Traces it back to 1500 B.C." The Kansas City Times. 1944-04-20. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-03-25 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Women's Clubs". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1939-01-22. p. 52. Retrieved 2021-03-25 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Club Calendar for the Week". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1940-03-10. p. 56. Retrieved 2021-03-25 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Cooper, Zola K. (1932-03-01). "LX.—The Effect of Thallium Acetate on Thyroidectomized Albino Rats". Archives of Dermatology. 25 (3): 522. doi:10.1001/archderm.1932.01450020538010. ISSN 0003-987X.
15. Cooper, Zola K. (1930). "A histological study of the integument of the armadillo, tatusia novemcincta". American Journal of Anatomy. 45 (1): 1–37. doi:10.1002/aja.1000450102. ISSN 1553-0795.
16. Seelig, M. G.; Cooper, Zola K. (May 1933). "A Review of the Recent Literature of Tar Cancer (1927-1931 Inclusive)" (PDF). The American Journal of Cancer. 17: 589–.
17. Cooper, Zola K.; Reller, Helen C. (February 1942). "Mitotic Frequency in Methylcholanthrene Epidermal Carcinogenesis in Mice". Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2: 335–343.
18. Cooper, Zola K.; Firminger, Harlan I.; Reller, Helen C. (October 1944). "Transplantable Methylcholanthrene Skin Carcinomas of Mice". Cancer Research. 4: 617–621 – via Internet Archive.
19. Cooper, Zola K.; Schiff, Alice (1938-11-01). "Mitotic Rhythm in Human Epidermis". Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. 39 (2): 323–324. doi:10.3181/00379727-39-10190P. ISSN 0037-9727. S2CID 88026322.
20. Cowdry, Edmund Vincent (1952). Cowdry's Problems of Ageing: Biological and Medical Aspects. Williams & Wilkins.
21. "Funeral Service Tomorrow for Dr. Zola K. Cooper". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1954-10-25. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-03-25 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "Historical Background". Zola Cooper - Lee T. Nesbitt Clinical and Dermatopathologic Virtual Seminar. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
23. Farber, George A. (December 1974). "Zola Cooper Memorial Clinicopathological Seminar in Dermatology". Journal of Cutaneous Pathology. 1 (6): 291–293. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0560.1974.tb00640.x. ISSN 0303-6987. PMID 4620277. S2CID 28814592.
24. "AFIP Staff in the News". AFIP Letter. 158: 8. February 2000.
25. Marks, Etan; Persad, Leah; Cockerell, Clay (2019-01-09). "Review of Instructive Cases from the Zola Cooper and Lee T. Nesbitt Seminar". SKIN the Journal of Cutaneous Medicine. 3 (1). doi:10.25251/skin.3.1.4. ISSN 2574-1624.