Gerty Theresa Cori ( August 15 , 1896 - October 26 , 1957 ) was an American biochemist who became the third woman , and first American woman , to win a Nobel Prize in science . Gerty Theresa Cori ( nÃ e Radnitz , August 15 , 1896 â `` October 26 , 1957 ) was an American biochemist who became the third womanâ '' and first American womanâ '' to win a Nobel Prize in science , and the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine .