Dr. Margaret Pittman (1901–1995) was a pioneering bacteriologist whose research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on typhoid, cholera, and pertussis (whooping cough) helped generate the development of vaccinations against these diseases as well as others. Dr. Pittman was also the first female to lead a NIH laboratory, when in 1958, she was appointed chief of their Laboratory of Bacterial Products.