Dr. Margaret Giannini, a pioneer in treating developmental and physical disabilities, died Nov. 22 at her home in San Diego. She was 100, writes Katharine Q. Seelye for The New York Times.

Dr. Giannini, a pediatric oncologist, was a founder of the Westchester Institute for Human Development in Valhalla, N.Y., one of the world’s largest facilities for people with developmental disabilities,

Pursuing a medical degree, she had hoped to enter Hahnemann Medical School but was a credit short in organic chemistry. She enrolled at Villanova University, which at the time only took men.

She was asked to leave after a week. Her professor taught her privately and agreed to give her the organic chemistry credit if she passed the exam.

She passed, and began medical school in 1941, graduating in 1945.

She was the first director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. She also held positions at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

“She wanted to make sure that people who were underprivileged or had a handicap had the same chance as anybody else,” said Tommy Thompson, secretary of the Health and Human Services Department.

Read more at The New York Times about the life of Dr. Margaret Giannini.