Agnes Naranjo Stroud-Lee, a Native American woman born in 1922 at Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico, achieved remarkable success in the field of cytogenetics. She earned a BS in Biology from the University of New Mexico and worked at the Manhattan Project, conducting research on radiation's effects on living tissue.

 

Agnes later earned her PhD in Zoology and made significant contributions to the development of digital analysis of human chromosomes and automated karyotype maps. Throughout her career, she published scientific articles, advocated for Native Americans in science, and mentored students.

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Agnes held positions at the Pasadena Foundation for Medical Research, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory before retiring in 1979. Despite her vision deteriorating, she continued to study and read research journals with the help of an enlarging device. Agnes passed away in 2018 at the age of 95, leaving behind a scientific legacy and a passion for advancing cancer research, tissue culture, and cytogenetics.