Odile Schweisguth (1913-2002) was a French physician who is considered the pioneer of pediatric oncology in Europe and was the founder of the first child cancer department at the Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR) in Villejuif.
[3] She then directed her medical interests to pediatrics and started to work with Robert Debré at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris.
[2] In 1948, René Huguenin, a professor of pathology and director of the Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR) in Villejuif, south of Paris, one the world's leading cancer centers, wanted to open a pediatric section.
According to her obituary, Schweisguth was instrumental in the work there.For Professor Jean-Michel Zucker, current head of the department of oncological pediatrics at the Institut Curie in Paris, she played, with a few American specialists, an essential role, that of the pioneers who managed to clear a medical field that had been practically ignored before.
[2] Her obituary mentions that she combined "an acute intellectual curiosity with a disturbing and fruitful non-conformity, Dr. Schweisguth has shown modesty and scientific humility throughout his professional life.