Eloise Blaine Cram

In 1920, Cram entered government service as a zoologist for the USDA Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), where she became noted as a world authority on the parasites of poultry, and eventually rose to the position of Head Scientist for the investigation of Parasites of Poultry and Game Birds.

In 1936, Cram left the BAI to take a position at the Zoology Lab of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where she remained until her retirement in 1956.

While at the NIH, Cram contributed to the scientific study of pinworm and other parasites in humans, but her major contribution to parasitology and to science in general was her pioneering research into curbing the disease schistosomiasis (liver flukes), endemic to tropical regions.

[5] Cram was remembered for her "high degree of industry coupled with a patient endurance of disappointments, an ability to overcome difficulties she encountered in research, and a vigorous persistence of effort in order to arrive at solutions of perplexing problems," for devoting her life "unstintingly" to the study of human and animal parasites, and for her cheerful, humorous brilliance and sharp focus which persisted even as she neared the end of her life in the face of a debilitating disease.

The Eloise Cram Papers comprise correspondence, photographs, scientific articles and various ephemera relating to the professional lives and work of several scientists employed by the USDA's Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).