Draft:Norma Gaillard

Norma Gaillard was a cell culture supervisor and educator at the Tuskegee Infantile Paralysis Center. In 1955, she and a team of fellow scientists worked to produce a polio vaccine within the George Washington Carver Research Foundation on the Tuskegee campus. By July 1955, the team had produced 600,000 Salk vaccine cultures from HeLa cells.

Early Life and Education
Mrs. Gaillard received her bachelor's degree at North Carolina Central University, before moving on to Tuskegee University to pursue her master's degree in organic chemistry, graduating in 1948.

Career and Legacy
In 1953, Gaillard joined the team at the Tuskegee Institute working to produce and transport polio vaccines. The university encountered issues with contamination, which Gaillard and her associates resolved with the help of special air conditioners employed to keep their lab cool and remove dust and humidity.

In March 2024, Tuskegee University unveiled a monument to Henrietta Lacks and the team of scientists that produced the polio vaccine, including Norma Gaillard.