Jane C. Wright

Once Wright retired from her work in 1987, she spent the rest of her life partaking in things she enjoyed, such as sailing, watercoloring, and reading mysteries. Wright passed away on February 19, 2013 in Guttenberg, New Jersey at 93 years old. Her two daughters and her sister survive her.

Wright retired in 1985 and was appointed emerita professor at New York Medical College in 1987. In describing her pioneering research in chemotherapy, she told reporter Fern Eckman, "There's lots of fun in exploring the unknown. There's no greater thrill than in having an experiment turn out in such a way that you make a positive contribution."

Wright was a very determined woman from the start. In 1980, the famous Rubik's cube came out, and she immediately bought one and learned how to solve it. She was passionate about puzzles and learning how to solve them, including puzzles found in medicine (specifically the treatment of cancer). She realized that she lived in a world where men dominated the medical field, but she did not care - she was eager to make contributions to medicine, specifically to the treatment of cancer, and did not let her gender hold her back. Additionally, she lived during a time where black pride was a huge movement, and being an African American woman, used this movement to her full advantage. However, this did not mean she was boastful or self-centered. She was said to be very modest and tender with her patients, while still being very motivated and fearless. She was also known to pick up her fellow physicians' slack. In other words, if one physician did not take the time to look into other treatments that may benefit their patient more, Wright did, even if they were not her patient.

In addition to research and clinical work, Wright was professionally active. In 1964, she was the only woman among seven physicians who helped to found the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and in 1971, she was the first woman elected president of the New York Cancer Society. Wright was appointed associate dean and head of the Cancer Chemotherapy Department at New York Medical College in 1967, apparently the highest-ranked African American physician at a prominent medical college at the time, and certainly the highest-ranked African American woman physician. She was appointed to the National Cancer Advisory Board (also known as the National Cancer Advisory Council) by US President Lyndon Johnson, serving from 1966 to 1970. and the President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke (1964–65). Wright was also internationally active, leading delegations of oncologists to China and the Soviet Union, and countries in Africa and Eastern Europe. She worked in Ghana in 1957 and in Kenya in 1961, treating cancer patients. From 1973 to 1984 she served as vice president of the African Research and Medical Foundation.

In addition to her love of the sciences, Jane was had other hobbies she enjoyed such as art and swimming. In fact, before Wright took up studying medicine, she was majoring in art. Upon receiving the Merit Award from Mademoiselle in 1952, she stated, "My plans for the future are to continue seeking a cure for cancer, to be a good mother to my children, and a good wife to my husband."

Wright's research work involved studying the effects of various drugs on tumors. In 1951 with the help of her team she was the first to identify methotrexate, one of the foundational chemotherapy drugs, as an effective tool against cancerous tumors. Wright's early work brought chemotherapy out of the realm of an untested, experimental hypothetical treatment, into the realm of tested, proven effective cancer therapeutics—thus literally saving millions of lives. Her work with this form of chemotherapy proved to be the stepping stone for combination therapy as well as the individual adjustments due to patient toxicity. In their initial research they took each patient’s tumor which was then evaluated and then grown again in tissue culture. These tumors were then treated with the same drug that was used in the treatment of the patient before the tumor was extracted. The clinical criteria needed for the evaluation of the chemotherapeutic agents to work is seen in Figure 1.

In 1949, Dr. Wright joined her father at the Cancer Research Foundation at Harlem Hospital. During her time at the research institute, she and her father sparked an interest in chemotherapeutic agents. They were interested in making chemotherapy more accessible for everyone. In the 1940s chemotherapy was a new development, so it was not a well-known or well-practiced source for treatment because it was still in its experimental stage of drug development. Chemotherapy was considered the “last resort” and the drugs available and dosage was not very well defined. Both Jane and her father wanted to make chemotherapy a more accessible method of cancer treatment. They were the first groups to report the use of nitrogen mustard agents and folic acid antagonists as cancer treatments. The Folic acid antagonist can block folic acid in the body, which is required for cells to produce certain types of amino acids. By inhibiting the folic acids, cells are unable to make new strands of DNA/RNA or produce proteins to drive mitosis. Because cancer cells are highly proliferative compared to the other class in the human body, it is crucial to stop mitosis from happening. The folic acid antagonists that were tested were probably the most important discovery because the antifolates are highly potent against a vast array of solid tumors, including several types of leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, lymphosarcoma, melanoma, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. Methotrexate is still one of the main chemotherapy drugs used today to treat many types of cancer, and it has been a basis for all modern chemotherapy.

On July 27, 1947, Wright married David D. Jones and the couple had two daughters: Jane Wright Jones and Alison Jones. Her husband was an attorney and became founder of anti-poverty and job training organizations for young African Americans. Unfortunately, in 1976, Mr. Jones died of heart failure. Wright's daughters also grew up to work in the medical field, one becoming a psychiatrist and the other a clinical psychologist. This further contributes to Wright being apart of a medical dynasty.

Jane attended Smith College, originally wanting to pursue a degree in art, however, her father suggested to change her studies to pre-medical studies. After her studies at Smith College, Jane earned a full scholarship to study medicine at New York Medical College. She graduated as a part of an accelerated three-year program at the top of her class in 1945 with the honors award. After graduating from medical school, Dr. Wright earned an internship at Bellevue Hospital during 1945 and 1946. In 1947, she married David D. Jones, Jr, an attorney, and she completed her surgical residency at Harlem Hospital in 1948, where her father was.

After medical school, she did residencies at Bellevue Hospital (1945–46) and Harlem Hospital (1947–48), completing her tenure at Harlem Hospital as chief resident. In 1949 she joined her father in research at the Harlem Hospital Cancer Research Center, which he had founded, succeeding him as director when he died in 1952. In 1955 she accepted a research appointment at New York University Bellevue Medical Center, as Associate Professor of Surgical Research and Director of Cancer Research.

As a child, Wright attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, then the "Ethical Culture" school and the "Fieldston School", from which she graduated in 1938. During her time at the Fieldston School, Wright was very involved. She served as the school's yearbook art editor and was named the captain of the swim team. Her favorite subjects to study were math and science. After attending the Fieldston School, Wright received a scholarship to Smith College, where she furthered her studies and continued to be very involved. Here, she swam on the varsity swim team and found a passion for the German language, where she lived in the school's German house for a while. She graduated with an art degree from Smith College in 1942. Once her time here was finished, she received yet another a scholarship to the New York Medical College, where she was required to graduate in only three years due to World War II. She received her medical degree with honors in 1945. She then immediately accepted an internship at Bellevue Hospital.

Jane Cooke Wright (also known as "Jane Jones") (November 20, 1919 – February 19, 2013) was a pioneering cancer researcher and surgeon noted for her contributions to chemotherapy. In particular, Wright is credited with developing the technique of using human tissue culture rather than laboratory mice to test the effects of potential drugs on cancer cells. She also pioneered the use of the drug methotrexate to treat breast cancer and skin cancer (mycosis fungoids).