In 1967, Shirley McClinton saw an ad in the paper about the Atlanta Concentrated Employment Program (ACEP) which was a program that had recently collaborated with the National Communicable Disease Center (now the CDC) to train high school graduates to become “laboratory workers and biological aides.” Immediately, McClinton responded to the ad, applied, and ultimately became “one of 22 pioneers in Atlanta who participated in the New Careers Training Program at CDC.”
In 1968, McClinton was officially hired by the CDC.
“As part of her initial work in the lab, McClinton would inoculate pigs’ testicles with a fungus. The guinea pigs were held in what was called the Animal House for about two weeks; then McClinton would sacrifice the animals; place a tissue sample on a slide; and take notes as to whether the sample was positive or negative for the fungus.” She later worked on molds and yeasts.
As a Black woman working in public health in the 1960s and 1970s, McClinton states: “There were times when I did not get the recognition for work I have done.”
In 2006, the Atlanta Journal Constitution wrote a story describing the FDA’s reevalutation of contact lenses due to the outbreak of a rare eye infection, Fusarium keratitis. McClinton was highlighted in this story as she, alongside other CDC scientists, helped identify the source of the outbreak: a contact lens solution that was highly associated with the disease.
McClinton is still currently working with the CDC and has not plan to retire anytime soon.
#forBTWbyBTW
Source: 2017 These Halls Can Talk interview with Shirley McClinton; Inside Story by Faye McDonald Smith
In 1968, McClinton was officially hired by the CDC.
“As part of her initial work in the lab, McClinton would inoculate pigs’ testicles with a fungus. The guinea pigs were held in what was called the Animal House for about two weeks; then McClinton would sacrifice the animals; place a tissue sample on a slide; and take notes as to whether the sample was positive or negative for the fungus.” She later worked on molds and yeasts.
As a Black woman working in public health in the 1960s and 1970s, McClinton states: “There were times when I did not get the recognition for work I have done.”
In 2006, the Atlanta Journal Constitution wrote a story describing the FDA’s reevalutation of contact lenses due to the outbreak of a rare eye infection, Fusarium keratitis. McClinton was highlighted in this story as she, alongside other CDC scientists, helped identify the source of the outbreak: a contact lens solution that was highly associated with the disease.
McClinton is still currently working with the CDC and has not plan to retire anytime soon.
#forBTWbyBTW
Source: 2017 These Halls Can Talk interview with Shirley McClinton; Inside Story by Faye McDonald Smith