Sampson, Myra Melissa

Myra Sampson was born on January 31, 1887 in Fall River, Massachusetts. Sampson received her Ph.B. from Brown University, and both her M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. A member of the Smith College faculty from 1909 to 1955, Sampson was a professor of Zoology and became Chairman of the Committee on Graduate Study. With an interest in bacteriology and physiology, Sampson was an expert on nutrition and Vitamin A, and directed a research project determining the effect on the thyroid gland of an excess or deficiency of calcium. Not only was Sampson involved with the college, she served on the Northampton Board of Health from 1947-1950, and conducted fatigue tests for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Sampson also researched overseas, and conducted experiments at the Dunn Nutritional Laboratory in Cambridge, England and at the Lister Foundation in London. Sampson passed away February 29, 1984 in Northampton, Massachusetts.