Jewel Plummer Cobb

Jewel Plummer Cobb (January 17, 1924 – January 1, 2017) was an American biologist, cancer researcher, professor, dean, and academic administrator. She contributed to the field of cancer research by studying treatments for melanoma. Cobb was an advocate for increasing the representation of women and students of color in universities, and she created programs to support students interested in pursuing graduate school.

Jewel Isadora Plummer was the only child of Frank V. Plummer, and Carriebel (Callie) Plummer. Both of her parents used to live in New York City Her mother, Carriebel, found employment as a physical education and dance teacher who graduated from college with a BA in interpretive dancing. She had re-entered college the same time Jewel enrolled resulting in both mother and daughter earning degrees in the same year. Jewel's father, Frank, was the first Black person to graduate with a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard University, becoming a physician specializing in dermatology. Plummer's paternal grandfather was a freed slave who graduated from Howard University in 1898 making a living as a pharmacist.

Cobb's economically privileged upbringing offered her a childhood of intellectual exploration. From her father's scientific library to her education at several multiracial institutions, Cobb developed an interest in learning from a young age. Although she anticipated becoming a physical education teacher, her interest in science solidified during her sophomore year of high school whilst looking through a microscope in biology class. This interest was encouraged by her biology teacher and she was fascinated by books on microorganisms like Paul DeKruif's The Microbe Hunters.

Cobb matriculated at the University of Michigan in 1948, dissatisfied with segregated housing for African-American students at Michigan, she transferred to Talladega College in Alabama. Talladega College did not accept transfer credits, forcing Cobb to start anew. In spite of this, she completed her course work in three years instead of the standard four. She graduated with a BA in biology in 1944 and became a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Cobb initially was denied a fellowship for graduate study in biology at New York University, allegedly due to her race, but was granted the fellowship after an interview. She earned her MS from New York University in 1947, and her PhD with a focus on cell physiology in 1950.

Her dissertation, Mechanisms of Pigment Formation, examined melanin pigment granules formations in vitro using the enzyme tyrosinase. In 1949, she was appointed an independent investigator at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory. In 2021, the town renamed a road near the Marine Biological Laboratory "Jewel Cobb Road" in honor of Cobb.

After receiving her Ph.D, Cobb became a biology teaching fellow at New York University while also working for the National Cancer Institute at Harlem Hospital (1950-1952).

From 1952-1954 Cobb was an instructor in anatomy in Chicago at the University of Illinois College of Medicine where she taught histology.