Nauts, Helen C. (Helen Coley)

Helen Coley Nauts was born September 2, 1907, in Sharon, Connecticut, to William Bradley and Alice (Lancaster) Coley. In 1953, she founded the Cancer Research Institute, largely to support research relating to the work of her father, a surgeon and cancer specialist who, prior to his death in 1936, developed an early form of immunotherapy as a method for treating cancer. To treat cancer patients, Dr. Coley administered "Coley toxins," a mixture of live bacteria intended to spark the body into producing its own defenses against the disease. Although Coley recorded many successes with his treatment, his work became overshadowed by radiation and chemotherapy. Through the Cancer Research Institute, Helen Coley Nauts succeeded in bringing attention to Dr. Coley's work by putting together case studies, publishing monographs, advocating this treatment to doctors and patients, and raising and disbursing funds for cancer research. In the process, Nauts served as executive director of the Cancer Research Institute from 1953 to 1982 and remained actively involved in the organization until her death on January 2, 2001.