[2] In 1918, she collected corals, anemones, and medusae as part of the Barbados-Antigua Expedition, a group of University of Iowa graduate students and faculty studying the natural history of those islands.

[4] Van Wagenen was associate professor and lecturer at Yale School of Medicine, where she did pioneering work in the field of reproductive endocrinology.

[6] Over more than four decades, Gertrude van Wagenen amassed birth-to-death data on 1261 monkeys, including 600 live births, covering fifteen generations.

[7] She and gynecologist John McLean Morris are considered the "discoverers" of morning-after contraception, working first with diethylstilbestrol (DES) to prevent pregnancy.

[12] In addition to her research, Van Wagenen enjoyed traveling and collecting medical illustrations and objects, including engravings, textbooks, models, and mannequins.