Monroe E. Wall

In 1963, Monroe Wall and a team of researchers at Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina identified two plant extracts—Taxol and Campthothecin—that showed promise as anti-tumor agents. It would take 30 years before Taxol would receive FDA approval. Today, Taxol is one of the most widely used anti-tumor drugs used to fight ovarian, breast, lung, and prostate cancer. Prior to his work at the institute, Wall directed a U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory. He taught at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State, and served as a consultant to the National Cancer Institute and other federal agencies. His honors include the U.S. Department of Agriculture Superior Accomplishment Award, the American Pharmaceutical Association’s top research prize, and the American Pharmacognosy Society Research Achievement Award. In 1998, he earned the American Chemical Society Alfred Burger Award, the most prestigious award in medicinal chemistry. In 2000, he was a co-recipient of the General Motors Kettering Award, the highest recognition one can receive for cancer research. Wall died in 2002 at age 85.