Usually, when people talk about women in science as role models, they tend to trot out Ada Lovelace and Marie Curie, sometimes even Jane Goodall or Rosalind Franklin. Other than raising awareness for Child’s Play Charity, if there’s one thing I could have everyone walk away from the 2015 Geek-A-Long having learned, it’s about Gertrude Elion. Not only is she an awesome ginger, she’s my hero.

To represent Gertrude Elion, we chose two molecules. The larger one done in purple is Pyrimethamine (Daraprim), which is used to treat and prevent malaria. The other is 6-Mercaptopurine (Purinethol), which is used to treat leukemia, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and is used in organ transplants.