Helene Knabe, MD, graduated from the Medical College of Indiana, a predecessor to IU School of Medicine, in 1904. Knabe went on to become the first female assistant pathologist for the Indiana State Laboratory of Hygiene, later serving first as deputy state health officer and then as assistant state bacteriologist. In this position, she championed a new treatment for rabies that was credited with reducing mortality rates in the state.
Amelia Keller, MD, associate professor of diseases of children, taught at IU School of Medicine from 1908 to 1919 and is credited as the first female faculty member at the school. She was one of the first female physicians practicing in Indianapolis (starting her practice in 1895) and was active in many Indianapolis-area women’s organizations.
Edith Schuman, MD, was the first female intern at IU School of Medicine, serving in this capacity from 1933-1935. Schuman went on to serve as chief medical officer for the Army Specialized Training Corps and helped develop the IU Student Health Center, where she served as one of its early physicians. IU Bloomington offers the Edith Schuman Award in her honor, given for academic excellence and significant contributions to the sports medicine program for women’s athletics.
Learn more about IU School of Medicine’s founding women and also visit the Women in Medicine blog to read the stories of women who are making an impact at IU School of Medicine.
