Gerty Theresa Cori ( née Radnitz ; August 15 , 1896 -- October 26 , 1957 ) was a Czech-American biochemist who became the third woman -- and first American woman -- to win a Nobel Prize in science , and the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine .
Gerty Theresa Cori ( née Radnitz ) ( August 15 , 1896 -- October 26 , 1957 ) was a Czech-American biochemist who became the third woman , and first American woman , to win a Nobel Prize in science .