{{Short description|American chemist and HIV/AIDS activist (1934–2026)}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Iris Long | birth_name = Iris Lillian Doerr | birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|12|8}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2026|4|4|1933|12|8}} | death_place = New York City, U.S. | fields = Organic chemistry, antiviral drugs | workplaces = Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center<br>Long Island Jewish Medical Center | alma_mater = Hunter College (B.A., M.A.)<br>University of Connecticut (Ph.D.) | thesis_title = Lactones as Possible Carcinogens and Tumor Inhibitors | thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302672116 | thesis_year = 1972 | doctoral_advisor = Robert E. Willette | known_for = HIV/AIDS activism }}
'''Iris Lillian Doerr Long''' (December 8, 1933 – April 4, 2026) was an American chemist and activist in the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) effort to spread information about the possible antiviral drugs that could be used to combat HIV/AIDS.
== Early life and career == Iris Lillian Doerr was born in New York City on December 8, 1933.<ref name=sandomir /> Her family was of German descent. At Hunter College, she completed a bachelor of arts in 1955 and a master of arts in chemistry in 1964.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal|last=Schulman|first=Sarah|title=Interview of Iris Long May 16, 2003|journal=Mix – the New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival|date=May 16, 2003|page=2}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Doerr|first=Iris Lillian|date=1972|title=Lactones as Possible Carcinogens and Tumor Inhibitors|url=https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/AAI7232139|journal=Doctoral Dissertations|publisher=University of Connecticut|pages=1–136}}</ref> Long worked as an organic chemist in several research hospitals, including eleven years at Sloan-Kettering, there she worked on developing nucleosides - experience that would later help her understand the workings of antiretroviral drugs. She left Sloan-Kettering and earned her doctor of philosophy in 1972 at the University of Connecticut. Her dissertation was titled ''Lactones as Possible Carcinogens and Tumor Inhibitors''. Long's doctoral advisor was Robert E. Willette.<ref name=":0" /> After her doctoral studies, Long worked briefly at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. She later ceased working professionally as a chemist, and was acting as a stay at home carer for her mother, who was unwell. It was during this time that she became aware of the AIDS crisis and the potential use of drugs similar to those she had worked on to treat it.<ref name=":1" />
== Activism == Despite having no connection to the gay community, or HIV/AIDS sufferers, Long began to volunteer with the Community Research Initiative (CRI), distributing drugs that could possibly help against the virus to those infected. Many of the drugs being taken were anti-cancer drugs. However, around March 1987 she attended a meeting of ACT-UP and was struck by the group's approach.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Schulman|first=Sarah|title=Interview of Iris Long May 16, 2003|journal=Mix – the New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival|date=May 16, 2003|page=2}}</ref> She brought the group information on a clinical trial carried out on HIV positive patients by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and was able to explain the types of drugs being used. This proved to be her greatest gift: explaining the complex range of drugs out there to the group. Following this she helped the Treatment and Data Committee to review medical information and report back to the larger group.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brier|first=Jennifer|title=Infectious Ideas: U.S. Political Responses to the AIDS Crisis|year=2011|publisher=The University of North Carolina Press|location=Chapel Hill, NC|isbn=978-0807872116|page=163}}</ref> She would go on to organize the AIDS Treatment Registry.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lambert|first=Bruce|title=Hospital Policy Is Said to Hurt AIDS Patients|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/08/nyregion/hospital-policy-is-said-to-hurt-aids-patients.html|access-date=22 May 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 8, 1989}}</ref>
== Personal life and death == {{Citation needed span|text=In 1970,|date=April 2026}} she married Michael G. Long.<ref name=":0" /> Iris Long died in Astoria, Queens, on April 4, 2026, at the age of 92.<ref name=sandomir>{{cite web|title=Iris Long, Scientific Mentor to AIDS Activists, Dies at 92|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/health/iris-long-dead.html|last=Sandomir|first=Richard|publisher=The New York Times|date=April 17, 2026|access-date=April 17, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Iris Lillian Long Obituary (2026) - Astoria, NY - Joseph Farenga & Sons Inc. |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/iris-long-obituary?id=61181886 |access-date=2026-04-07 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref> == See also == * List of AIDS activists * Women in chemistry
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Iris}} Category:1933 births Category:2026 deaths Category:American HIV/AIDS activists Category:20th-century American chemists Category:21st-century American chemists Category:American women chemists Category:21st-century American women scientists Category:20th-century American women scientists Category:Hunter College alumni Category:University of Connecticut alumni Category:American organic chemists Category:Scientists from New York City Category:American people of German descent Category:Members of ACT UP Category:Chemists from New York (state) Category:Activists from New York City Category:American women activists