Alma Joslyn Whiffen-Barksdale

Alma Whiffen-Barksdale

Dr. Alma Joslyn Whiffen-Barksdale (October 25, 1916 - July 5, 1981) was a U.S. mycologist who discovered cycloheximide. She was born in Hammonton, New Jersey. She received a Bachelor's degree from Maryville College (1937). Her Masters (botany, 1939) and Ph.D. (botany and mycology, 1941) were earned at the University of North Carolina. In 1941-42, she was a Carnegie Fellow, and in 1951, she was a Guggenheim Fellow. Barksdale worked at the Department of Antibiotic Research of the Upjohn Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan (1943-52) and at the New York Botanical Garden. She was married to Lane Barksdale.