Monica Asman
Sister Monica Asman (1920-2016) was an American Catholic nun and research scientist at University of California, Berkeley. She applied genetic methods to mosquitoes with the aim of reducing their ability to carry viruses that can cause disease in humans and animals, and to reduce the size of mosquito populations. She also opened the St. Francis Center of Redwood City for the poor. Education and personal life Monica Asman was born in Germany on September 14, 1920. She was brought up in America and in 1940 she joined the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity. She graduated from University of Notre Dame in 1966 with a Ph. D. degree. In 1987 she founded the St. Francis Center for poor people in Redwood City, California. In 2004 she retired to a religious residence. She died April 5, 2016. Career As well as her religious vocation, Asman had a successful career as a science teacher and researcher. Her reason for becoming a scientist was probably the need for science teachers at Catholic schools. Between 1944 and 1962 Asman worked as a teacher in schools run by her religious order. Making a significant change, she then began scientific research supervised by