Odette L. Shotwell

Odette Louise Shotwell, Ph.D. (4 May 1922–10 April 1998)[1] was an organic chemist known for her contributions to natural products chemistry of antibiotics and insecticides.

Odette L. Shotwell
Dr. Odette Shotwell, 1969
Born4 May 1922[1]
Colorado
Died10 April 1998 (aged 75)[1]
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma mater
  • Montana State College
  • University of Illinois
Scientific career
Fields
InstitutionsUSDA Agricultural Research Service
Doctoral advisorRobert Loeffler Frank

Personal life

Odette Louise Shotwell was born to Robert Lester (born December 15, 1894) and Ruby Mildred (Sammons) Shotwell[2] on May 4, 1922[1] and grew up in Denver, Colorado.[3] As a child, she had polio;[4] as a result, she had "severe, painful paralysis which makes walking in an erect position impossible."[5]

Education and career

Shotwell graduated with a Bachelor's degree from Montana State College.[6][7][8] Both her Master of Science degree and her doctorate degree in organic chemistry (June 19, 1948) were awarded from the University of Illinois.[6][9] At the University of Illinois, her doctoral advisor was Robert Loeffler Frank.[10]

After completing her Ph.D., Shotwell went to work at the USDA/Agricultural Research Service in Peoria, Illinois. She worked as a research chemist in the Northern Utilization Research and Development Division for twenty five years, working at the USDA for her whole career. She retired from agricultural research in 1990.[11]

Service

Throughout her life, Shotwell fought to improve conditions for disabled people, women and people of color in science. As a chair holder of the education committee of her local NAACP chapter, she led a 40-volunteer initiative to tutor underserved children and the integration of Peoria schools in the 1960s.[12][13][14] She also served as president of the Peoria Chapter of League of Women Voters.[15] Other activity in her local community included consulting on education for an inner city program of the Peoria Area Council of Churches and serving as a board member of a center for the arts and sciences.[15]

Research

As a USDA Research Chemist, Shotwell discovered two new antibiotics (duramycin[16] and azacolutin[17]), and assisted with the discovery of two others (hydroxystreptomycin[18] cinnamycin[19]). She developed novel ways to separate antibiotics from fermenting microbes.[20]

By 1974, she was a Supervisory Chemist and Leader of Mycotoxin Analysis and Chemical Research.[21] She led a team developing insecticides, with a focus on the study of Japanese beetle hemolymph, and particularly beetles infected with milky disease. The group of researchers in which she worked at the Northern Laboratories went on to find a biological countermeasure to the beetle's mass infestation.[15]

Shotwell is best known for her contributions to the research of mycotoxins, especially to the study of aflatoxin, a carcinogen produced by mold that grows on rice and corn.[22][23] Byproducts of corn production fed to cattle can cause cancer, stunted growth, and congenital malformations.[23][24] In the late 1980's she was appointed the Research Leader of the Mycotoxin Research Unit still within the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA. [21] She instructed the Federal Drug Administration on how to detect contaminated feed grain using ultraviolet light.[25] As a member of the American Society of Oil Chemists she helped decide the standards of purity for the grain storage industry.[6] In 1980 she received the USDA's Distinguished Service Award for "contributing to the protection of human health by developing identification standards and analytical methods essential to excluding mold toxins from cereal foods, milk and animal feed."[26]

Later in the decade, Shotwell led a group investigating Fusarium fungi and their production of trichothecene toxins. Plants produce phytoalexins to defend against these fungi, so Shotwell and her team were designing fungi inhibitors based on these structures.[21]

Throughout her career she held many memberships and positions on boards, including president and fellow of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). She contributed to the American Association of Cereal Chemists, serving as chair of the Committee on Mycotoxins in Cereals and Grains and member of the editorial board.[27]

Patents

Awards
  • Outstanding Woman Alumna of the Year (Montana State College, 1961)[30]
  • USDA Nomination for Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year (USDA Civil Service Commission, 1969),[5] one of the first 10 federal employee finalists. The winner was Katherine A. Niemeyer.[31]
  • Distinguished Service Award (USDA, 1980)[26]
  • The Harvey W. Wiley Award (Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (AOAC),1982) [32][33][34]
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References
  1. "Odette L. Sammons Shotwell". Find a Grave. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  2. Bailey, L. H.; Bailey, Ethel Zoe, eds. (1925). "Shotwell, Robert Leslie". Rus : a biographical register of rural leadership in the United States and Canada. Ithaca, N.Y. p. 602. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  3. "Robert L. Shotwell". The Colorado Springs Gazette. December 17, 1975.
  4. Stearner, S. Phyllis (1984-04-01). Able Scientists--Disabled Persons: Biographical Sketches Illustrating Careers in the Sciences for Able Disabled Students. J. Racila Associates. p. 22.
  5. "Chemist Nominated For New Award". Usda Employee Newsletter. Washington: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Office of Governmental and Public Affairs. XXVIII (3): 2. January 30, 1969. Retrieved 5 May 2020. Dr. Odette Shotwell, a research chemist with the Agricultural Research Service, is USDA's nominee for a recently established Civil Service Commission award — the Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year... Polio contracted in her childhood left Dr. Shotwell with a severe, painful paralysis which makes walking in an erect position impossible.
  6. "Her Handicap Wasn't Crippling". Colorado Springs Gazette - Telegraph. March 14, 1969.
  7. "Outstanding Alumna". The Billings Gazette. June 3, 1961.
  8. "Billings Girl Named Woman's Day Speaker". The Billings Gazette. June 7, 1961.
  9. Bailey, Martha J. (1994). American Women in Science, a Biographical Dictionary. Denver, CO: ABC-CLIO. p. 356.
  10. "UIUC School of Chemical Sciences Alumni newsletter" (PDF). 1989. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  11. "Alum News". School of Chemical Sciences Alumni News University of Illinois Urbana-Champaigne. Spring 1990.
  12. Glasser, Joanne K. (March 24, 2011). "Bradley University: History is Our Strength: a Woman's Perspective". Bradley University. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  13. "Any job in America: Profile of courage and achievement". Performance: The Story of the Handicapped. Washington, D.C.: The President's Committee on National Employment of the Physically Handicapped. 1969. pp. 19–20.
  14. "NAACP Charges Peoria Schools Failed to Desegregate Facilities". The Dispatch. July 18, 1975.
  15. Stanley, Autumn (1993). Mothers and Daughters of invention: Notes for a Revised History of Technology. Metuchen, N.J., and London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 826.
  16. Lindenfelser, L. A.; Pridham, T. G.; Shotwell, O. L.; Stodola, F. H. (1957–1958). "Antibiotics against plant disease. IV. Activity of duramycin against selected microorganisms". Antibiotics Annual. 5: 241–247. ISSN 0570-3131. PMID 13521812.
  17. US US3017327A, "Azacolutin extraction from s. cinnamomeus var. azacoluta", issued 1959-11-17
  18. Stodola, Frank H.; Shotwell, Odette L.; Borud, Anne Marie; Benedict, Robert G.; Riley, Arthur C. (1951-05-01). "Hydroxystreptomycin, a New Antibiotic from Streptomyces Griseocarneus2". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 73 (5): 2290–2293. doi:10.1021/ja01149a109. ISSN 0002-7863.
  19. Benedict, R. G.; Dvonch, W.; Shotwell, O. L.; Pridham, T. G.; Lindenfelser, L. A. (November 1952). "Cinnamycin, an antibiotic from Streptomyces cinnamoneus nov. sp". Antibiotics & Chemotherapy (Northfield, Ill.). 2 (11): 591–594. ISSN 0570-3123. PMID 24542148.
  20. "Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office". Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. United States Patent Office. 774: 643. January 1962.
  21. Cooke, Linda (1989). "Fungal troublemaker under fire". Agricultural Research. Science and Education Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 37 (7): 8–9.
  22. Shotwell, O. L.; Hesseltine, C. W.; Stubblefield, R. D.; Sorenson, W. G. (1 May 1966). "Production of aflatoxin on rice". Applied Microbiology. 14 (3): 425–428. doi:10.1128/AEM.14.3.425-428.1966. ISSN 0003-6919. PMC 546734. PMID 5970829.
  23. Looker, Dan (October 1, 1977). "Contaminated Corn Issue Still Undecided, State Says". Messenger-Inquirer.
  24. "Samples Continue to Show Aflotoxin in Corn Supplies". The Des Moines Register. March 19, 1989.
  25. "Detecting Aflotoxin". The Sheboygan Press. April 3, 1984.
  26. Maragos, Chris (2008-09-01). "Tribute to Dr. Odette Shotwell". Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A. 25 (9): 1050–1051. doi:10.1080/02652030802315535. ISSN 1944-0049. PMID 18792833.
  27. O'Neill, Lois Decker (1979). The Women's Book of World Records and Achievements. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday. pp. 32.
  28. US US2865815A, "Production of antibiotic mixture having antibacterial and antifungal activity", issued 1957-02-08
  29. US US3332847A, "Almarcetin and its production by streptomyces albus", issued 1964-12-08
  30. "Billings Girl Named Woman's Day Speaker". The Billings Gazette. June 7, 1961.
  31. "For Your Information". Usda Employee Newsletter. XXVIII (9). April 24, 1969. Retrieved 5 May 2020. DR. ODETTE SHOTWELL displays the award certificate she received as one of 10 finalists as the Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year, a new award sponsored by the Civil Service Commission.... Katherine A. Niemeyer, Chief Dietitian, Veterans Administration Restoration Center Hospital, East Orange, N.J., was named as Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year.
  32. "Harvey W Wiley Main". webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  33. Wayne, Tiffany K. (2011). American women of science since 1900. ABC-CLIO. pp. 882–863. ISBN 978-1-59884-158-9. OCLC 645708415.
  34. "For Your Information". Journal of Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 65 (5): 1288–1292. 1982-09-01. doi:10.1093/jaoac/65.5.1288. ISSN 1060-3271.
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