Trailer: The Pathologist in the Basement

The medical detective work of Dr. Dorothy Andersen, a pathologist and pediatrician, led to our current understanding of Cystic Fibrosis. But who was she?

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Listen to our inaugural season, “The Pathologist in the Basement,” about Dorothy Andersen, a physician and pathologist who solved a medical mystery when she identified and defined cystic fibrosis in 1938. A passionate outdoorswoman, a “rugged individualist” and a bit of an enigma, Andersen changed the way we understand acute lung and gastrointestinal problems in young children.

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When Dr. Dorothy Andersen confronted a slew of confounding infant deaths, she knew the accepted diagnosis couldn’t be right. Her medical detective work led to our current understanding of Cystic Fibrosis, a disease that circuitously impacts the pancreas and lungs. But she is by no means a household name, and the details of her life get scarcer every day. Who was this scientist, and how did she come to quietly make such an important medical contribution?

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This podcast is distributed by PRX and published in partnership with Scientific American.