Following her Nobel Prize, Gerty Cori was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society on December 13, 1948.
On December 13, 1948, just over a year after receiving the Nobel Prize, Gerty Cori was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society, one of the oldest and most prestigious learned societies in the United States, founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin to promote useful knowledge.
Election to the Society represented formal acknowledgment by the American scientific establishment of Cori's stature as a leading biochemist. Membership in the Society has historically been reserved for individuals of exceptional achievement across the sciences, humanities, and public affairs, and women were, for much of its history, a small minority among its ranks.
This honor came amid a wave of recognition Cori received in the years following her Nobel Prize, including honorary degrees from numerous universities and membership in the National Academy of Sciences. Her election to the American Philosophical Society cemented her place among the era's most distinguished scientific minds and reflected the gradual, if slow, opening of elite scientific institutions to women following her historic Nobel win. It also provided her a platform to continue mentoring younger scientists and advocating implicitly, through her example, for greater inclusion of women in high-level research.