Beatrice Mintz, a cancer researcher whose many groundbreaking discoveries included the crucial finding that certain cancerous cells could be tamed by contact with normal neighboring cells, without the use of harsh treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, died on Jan. 3 at her home in Elkins Park, PA.

Dr. Mintz was an embryologist whose work spanned a number of disciplines, and her pioneering contributions have proved essential in helping researchers unravel some of the complexities of how cancer operates.

An elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Mintz won numerous prestigious prizes and awards. They included the National Medal of Honor for Basic Research by the American Cancer Society, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for Cancer Research, and the first March of Dimes Prize in developmental biology, which she shared with Ralph L. Brinster in 1996.

Dr. Mintz was notorious for having a demanding personality and for setting exacting standards that few others could meet. At one point, she was thinking about an endowed chair in her name that would be reserved for a female scientist, but then added that she couldn’t think of anyone who would qualify.