Dr. Evelyn Marie Carmon Nicol
Microbiologist, Immunologist
June 2, 1930 – May 27, 2020
Pioneer Scientist who Revolutionized Medical microbiology and immunology
The first scientist to isolate the herpes zoster virus, and is one of the few African American women to receive a patent in molecular biology, for a new production method of urokinase.
Evelyn Carmon Nicol was a pioneering immunologist who started her work at a time when Black women were discouraged not only from STEM (science, tech, engineering and math) careers but from higher education more broadly
Nicol was born in Little Rock, Kentucky. Her parents were Daniel Eugene Carmon, a schoolteacher, and Margarite Wilson Carmon, a homemaker. She was the 8th of 11 children. In an interview for Lifeology, Nicol explained that despite her family having very little: “we used to have a lot of fun. You couldn’t grow up any better than that.”As their local school was underfunded, and only went up to the eighth grade, Nicol’s father took it upon himself to give the children extra homeschooling.
During her high school years, Nicol worked as a domestic to earn money. When she graduated from high school, Nicol was offered a scholarship at Tuskegee University to study Home Economics. She moved to Alabama in 1949 to attend university, but she chose to study Mathematics and Chemistry instead of Home Economics. She funded her studies by working two jobs. Nicol graduated at the top of her class in 1953 with a degree in Chemistry and Mathematics and earned the Beta Kappa Chi and Alpha Kappa Mu honors.
From 1953 to 1955, Nicol worked as a research assistant for the Salk Polio Project of the Carver Research Foundation. Under the supervision of Dr. Russel W. Brown, she worked on developing the first polio vaccine using HeLa cell cultures. Nicol then joined the Cleveland City Hospital, working with Frederick C. Robbins and John F. Enders. There, she was the first person to successfully isolate the herpes zoster virus, which causes shingles, using amniotic cells in tissue culture. In an interview for Lifeology, Nicol said: “Things just come to me. I don’t know why. It just seems like common sense.”
Following these her early career successes, Nicol was recruited by Rand Development Corporation, where she worked on isolating the leukemia agent. During this time, Nicol also worked for the University of Kansas Medical Centre, and the Michael Reese Hospital.
Nicol then joined Abbott Laboratories as a research assistant in 1962. There, she faced discrimination from her white colleagues, who would take credit for results and sabotage her work. On 6 January 1976, Nicol patented a new technique to increase the production yield of urokinase (U.S. Patent No. 3,930,944), an enzyme used to dissolve blood clots. She was one of the few African American women to be awarded a patent in molecular biology at that time. Among her many achievements, while working at Abbott, Nicol successfully developed a test for toxoplasmosis in pregnant women and an interferon assay.
In 1985, Nicol was recruited by Baxter Pharmaceuticals. Within their hepatitis research and development group, known as Pandex, Nicol led the retrovirology division, which produced testing kits for blood-borne diseases such as HIV and human T-cell lymphotropic virus. Two blind studies funded by Abbott Pharmaceuticals determined that the testing kits produced under Nicol’s leadership were the best available. While at Baxter Pharmaceuticals, Nicol used her seniority to combat workplace discrimination and advocate for fairer hiring practices. For example, she hired Linda Smith, whose resume had initially been rejected, likely because she had studied at a historically Black university.
While she was working there, Pandex was bought by Nicol’s former employer Abbott Laboratories. Nicol retired in 1990, refusing to work for a company that had been so openly discriminatory.
Nicol had three children. Upon retirement, she lived in Waukegan, Illinois, and later in Weston, Connecticut. Retirement allowed Evelyn to partake in her many hobbies such as oil painting, bridge, and tennis to name a few. At the age of 89, Nicol was hospitalized for a stroke and was diagnosed with COVID-19. Evelyn passed away six days before her 90th birthday from complications of the virus in May 2020.
Evelyn was fiercely dedicated to her children and family. She is survived by 3 children, 4 grandchildren, a brother, 3 sisters, and scores of nephews, nieces and cousins. She was a resident of Waukegan, Illinois, and lived her last 3 years with her daughter, Karen Nicol, in Weston, Connecticut
Evelyn Nicol was a pioneer in the fields of microbiology and immunology and one of the few African American Women to have been awarded a patent in the sciences, particularly in the field of Molecular Biology. Ms. Nicol leaves behind an incredible legacy as a scientist whose brilliant intelligence and perseverance are attributed to her successful contributions to the world’s scientific community in the field of immunology.
Amazing pioneer and as her family said has left a lifelong legacy to endure throughout all generations.
Resources: Lifology, Wiki, and Obituary