Gertrude Falk (August 24, 1925 – March 9, 2008) was an American physiologist, who was Professor of Physiology at University College London, and the first woman to work in her field at UCL Medical School.
Born to immigrant parents in the United States, she was the first in her family to enroll at University, earning Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.
She and neuroscientist Paul Fatt researched cellular biophysics to find how the retina converts light into electrical signals, and later worked alongside Jonathan Ashmore in demonstrating that light responses can be increased significantly at the synthase between the rod bipolar cell and photoreceptor cell.
[1][2] Her mother was a Lithuanian who entered the United States at the age of 16,[2] only able to speak Yiddish, and her immigrant father operated a furrier shop during the Great Depression.
[1] She went on to study at University of Chicago, undertaking postgraduate research on diuresis (the increase in production of urine by a rat's kidneys), earning her a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
The two utilized two electrode recording techniques,[4] requiring a comprehensive of real biophysics that explained how the retina converts light into electrical signals.
[2] She was outspoken, had a sense of humor, sympathy for those individuals considered the underdog, and friends and colleagues called her "a generous, warm and intellectually challenging person.