where she remained until 1961. She also taught neurology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. In 1962, Rowley's interest in cancer and chromosomes was sparked as an NIH trainee, studying the pattern DNA replication in normal and abnormal human chromosomes. Dr. Rowley then returned to the University of Chicago, as a research associate in the Department of Hematology. She became an associate professor in 1969 and a full professor in 1977. In the 1970s, she further developed the use of existing methods of quinacrine fluorescence and Giemsa staining to identify chromosomes, and demonstrated that the abnormal Philadelphia chromosome implicated in certain types of leukemia was involved in a translocation with chromosome 9 in some cases. Translocation is the process by which a piece of one chromosome breaks off and joins another chromosome, or when two chromosomes exchange material when both break. She also identified translocation between chromosomes 8 and 21 in acute myelogenous leukemia, and between 15 and 17 in promyelocytic leukemia. Rowley also aided in the discovery, through her research, of the formation of retinoid acid, a drug that is able to help return normal function to certain protein receptors. The first chromosomal translocation was discovered by Rowley in 1972 in acute myelogenous leukemia. When Dr. Rowley published her findings in the 1970s, she argued that specific translocations caused specific diseases, going against the established view of the cause of cancer which gave little significance to chromosomal abnormalities. Although there was some resistance to her ideas at first, her work has proven immensely influential, and by 1990 over seventy translocations had been identified across different cancers. Awards and honors In 1984, Dr. Rowley was made the Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor of medicine, cell biology, molecular and human genetics at the University of Chicago. She also served as the interim deputy dean for science. In 1989, she was not only presented with the Charles S. Mott Prize by General Motors Cancer Research Foundation, but the Clowes Memorial Award as well. In 1991, she was elected as a member into the American Philosophical Society. In 1998, she was one of three scientists awarded the prestigious Lasker Award for their work on translocation, and received the National Medal of Science in 1998. In 1999, Dr. Rowley received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. In 2002, Discover magazine recognized her as one of the 50 most important