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.

Jane Wright's uncle, Harold Dadford West, was also a physician, who ultimately became the president of Meharry Medical College.

[5] After attending the Fieldston School, Wright received a scholarship to Smith College, where she furthered her studies and continued to be very involved in extracurricular activities.

Because cancer cells are highly proliferative compared to the other class in the human body, it is crucial to stop mitosis from happening.

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.

[4] 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.

[4] She also developed a non-surgical method, using a catheter system, to deliver potent drugs to tumors located deep within the body such as the liver and spleen.

She published more than 100 papers on cancer chemotherapeutics during her career and served on the editorial board of the Journal of the National Medical Association.

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.

[11] Wright was also internationally active, leading delegations of oncologists to China and the Soviet Union, and countries in Africa and Eastern Europe.

[4] During her career, Cooke also collaborated with cell biologist and physiologist Jewel Plummer Cobb, another noted African American female scientist.

In describing her pioneering research in chemotherapy, she told reporter Fern Eckman, "There's lots of fun in exploring the unknown.

[13] 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, was cognizant of her place in history.

[13] After Wright retired from her work in 1987, she spent the rest of her life partaking in activities she enjoyed, such as sailing, watercoloring, and reading mysteries.

Dr. Barbara Penn Wright and Mrs. Samuel R. Pierce, Jr. died in her sleep in her Manhattan, NY home on Saturday, November 24, 2018, at the age 94.