Jewel Plummer Cobb

UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography, (2003)

Jewel Plummer Cobb

Largely known for her work with skin pigment, or melanin, cell biologist and cell physiologist Jewel Plummer Cobb (born 1924) has encouraged women and ethnic minorities to enter the sciences. An educator and researcher, she contributed to the field of chemotherapy with her research on how drugs affected cancer cells.

Followed the Path of Science

Cobb was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 17, 1924, and spent her childhood as an only child. She is from the third generation of the Plummer family who sought a career in medical science. Her grandfather, a freed slave, graduated from Howard University in 1898 and became a pharmacist. Her father, Frank V. Plummer, became a physician after he graduated from Cornell University, where he helped found the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Her mother, Carriebel (Cole) Plummer, taught dance and was a physical education teacher.

Becoming a noted cell biologist was a difficult road for Cobb. Because she was African American, she faced segregation during the course of her education. Although she came from an upper-middle-class background, Cobb found that she had to go to black Chicago public schools. Cobb was in constant contact with African American professionals and was well aware of their accomplishments. She decided not to let anything stand in the way of her own success.

Supplementing her education with books from her father's library, Cobb had access to scientific journals and magazines, current event periodicals, and materials on successful African Americans. Although Cobb was at first interested in becoming a physical education teacher like her mother and aunt, she found that she was interested in biology when, in her sophomore year in high school, she studied cells through a microscope. An honors student, Cobb showed academic promise. She had a solid education and a drive to learn.

Although her interest in biology could have led her to become a medical doctor, Cobb was not interested in working directly with the sick. She was, nonetheless, interested in the theory of disease, an interest that later led her to become one of the leading cancer researchers in the United States.

Academic Career

When it came time to enroll in college, Cobb selected the University of Michigan. Due to the segregation of the dormitories at the university, all African Americans, regardless of their year of study, were forced to live in one house. In disgust at the racism still found there, Cobb left the University of Michigan after three semesters and earned her B.A. in biology from traditionally black Talladega College in Alabama.

Cobb applied for a teaching fellowship at New York University. Because of her race, she was at first turned down for the position. Cobb refused to accept the rejection and personally visited the college, which then accepted her because her credentials were so impressive. In 1945, Cobb started her career in teaching as a fellow there. In 1947, she earned an M.S. in cell physiology and in 1950 she earned a Ph.D. in cell physiology from New York University. Her dissertation was titled "Mechanisms of Pigment Formation."

Cobb was named an independent investigator for the Marine Biological Laboratory in 1949. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Cancer Research Foundation of Harlem Hospital and at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Attracted by theoretical approaches to biology, Cobb entered the field of research. Understanding the processes of living cells was at the heart of her studies. In particular, she found that tissue cultures were an interesting area of research. Determining which cells grew outside the body led to her study with Dorothy Walker Jones that looked at how human cancer cells were affected by drugs.

Entered Research and Administration

After she earned her doctorate, Cobb became a fellow at the National Cancer Institute. From 1952 to 1954, she directed the Tissue Culture Laboratory at the University of Illinois. Cobb took to the university life and went on to work for New York University and Hunter College in New York. She stayed at New York University from 1956 to 1960 as an assistant professor in research surgery. In 1960 Cobb became a professor at Sarah Lawrence College, where she continued her research until 1969.

Focusing on skin pigment and how melanin can protect skin from ultraviolet damage, Cobb looked at skin cancers, or melanomas. She also studied the differences between normal and cancerous pigment cells. Her research looked at neoplastic pigment cells and their development as well as exploring how hormones, chemotherapeutic drugs, and other agents could cause changes in cell division. She experimented with comparisons between how chemotherapy drugs performed in cancer patients and how they performed in vitro, or in other words, in laboratory test tubes, flasks, and dishes.

From 1969 to 1976, Cobb became dean of Connecticut College in New London, where she taught zoology. From 1976 to 1981, Cobb was a professor of biological sciences at Douglass College, a women's college at Rutgers University. She also served as dean. As she moved into administrative positions, Cobb used her influence to further the educational facilities and opportunities for those interested in studying the sciences.