Gerty Theresa Cori (née Radnitz; August 15, 1896 – October 26, 1957[2]) was a Bohemian-Austrian and American biochemist who in 1947 was the third woman to win a Nobel Prize in science, and the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for her role in the "discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen".

Growing up at a time when women were marginalized and allowed few educational opportunities, she gained admittance to medical school, where she met her future husband Carl Ferdinand Cori in an anatomy class.

In 2004, both Gerty and Carl Cori were designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark in recognition of their work in clarifying carbohydrate metabolism.

[5] Gerty was tutored at home before enrolling in a lyceum for girls, and at the age of 16, she decided she wanted to be a medical doctor.

Pursuing the study of science, Gerty learned that she lacked the prerequisites in Latin, physics, chemistry, and mathematics.

[6] Her uncle, a professor of pediatrics, encouraged her to attend medical school, so she studied for and passed the university entrance examination.

While studying, she met Carl Cori, who was immediately attracted to her charm, vitality, sense of humor, and her love of the outdoors and mountain climbing.

[8][9] They moved to Vienna, capital of Austria, where Gerty spent the next two years at the Carolinen Children's Hospital, and her husband worked in a laboratory.

[6] Life was difficult after the war, and Gerty developed dry eye caused by severe malnutrition due to food shortages.

[10] In 1922, the Coris both immigrated to the United States (Gerty six months after Carl because of difficulty in obtaining a position) to pursue medical research at what later became the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

[11] The cycle describes how the human body uses chemical reactions to break some carbohydrates such as glycogen in muscle tissue into lactic acid, while synthesizing others.

[14] While working at Washington University, they discovered an intermediate compound in frog muscles that enabled the breakdown of glycogen, called glucose 1-phosphate, later known as the Cori ester.

[10] They established the compound's structure, identified the enzyme phosphorylase that catalyzed its chemical formation, and deduced that the Cori ester is the beginning step in the conversion of the carbohydrate glycogen into glucose (breaking down energy stores into a form that can be used).

[15] Gerty Cori also studied glycogen storage disease, identifying at least four forms, each related to a particular enzymatic defect.

[17] Gerty and Carl Cori collaborated on most of their work, including that which won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen".

[18] Their work helped clarify the mechanisms of carbohydrate metabolism, advancing understanding of the reversible conversion of sugars and starch, which proved crucial to the development of diabetic treatments.

[21] She was appointed by President Harry S. Truman as board member of the National Science Foundation, a position she held until her death.

[22]Despite rampant gender discrimination and nepotism rules, she never stopped pursuing her lifelong interest in medical research.

[23] The twenty-five foot square laboratory shared by Cori and her husband at Washington University was deemed a National Historic Landmark by the American Chemical Society in 2004.

She was survived by her husband and their only child, Tom Cori, who married the daughter of conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly.