Pediatrician and microbiology expert Hattie Alexander developed the first effective treatment for a lethal form of meningitis.

Alexander worked for several years at the national and state Public Health Service as a bacteriologist, which allowed her to save money for medical school and gather the research experience that gained her admittance to Johns Hopkins University. After receiving her MD degree in 1930, she interned at Columbia-Presbyterian’s Babies Hospital (now Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital).

In 1939, a year after being appointed assistant professor of pediatrics, Alexander developed an anti-influenzal serum to treat meningitis caused by Hemophilus influenza. The serum lowered child and infant mortality due to this bacterium by 80%, saving thousands of lives until other drugs took its place.

Alexander also led the microbiological laboratory at Babies Hospital and became an authority on bacterial infections. In collaboration with her research associate Grace Leidy, Alexander shed light on how genetic mutation could make bacteria antibiotic-resistant.

In 1964, Alexander became the first woman elected president of the American Pediatrics Society.