Did Barbara McClintock have any other jobs before she was working with maize?

Yes, before Barbara McClintock began her groundbreaking work with maize genetics, she held several other positions and pursued different areas of research. Here are a few of her notable roles and accomplishments prior to her maize research:

1. Teaching and Research Assistant: McClintock started her career as a teaching and research assistant at Cornell University in 1927. She worked closely with professors in the botany department and conducted research on plant cytogenetics, studying chromosome behavior during cell division.

2. Cytogenetics Research: McClintock's early research focused on cytogenetics, particularly the behavior of chromosomes in different organisms. She studied chromosome breakage and rearrangements in plants and contributed to the understanding of chromosome mechanics and the structure of genetic material.

3. Doctoral Research and Teaching: McClintock earned her Ph.D. in Botany from Cornell University in 1931. Her doctoral research centered on the cytogenetics of maize and provided valuable insights into chromosome structure and chromosomal aberrations. During this time, she also served as an instructor in plant cytology and genetics.

4. Carnegie Institution: After completing her Ph.D., McClintock joined the Department of Genetics at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. She continued her research on maize and began to explore the genetic mechanisms of gene expression and regulation, paving the way for her later discoveries in maize genetics.

5. Consulting and Collaborative Work: Throughout her career, McClintock engaged in consulting and collaborative work with various research institutions and scientists. She provided expertise and guidance in cytogenetics, genetics, and maize research, contributing to the advancement of scientific knowledge in these fields.

It is important to note that McClintock's work with maize genetics and the discovery of transposons, for which she received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983, was a major highlight of her career and represented a significant shift in her research focus. Her earlier work in cytogenetics, teaching, and other research areas laid the foundation for her groundbreaking discoveries in maize.