Ann Stone Minot grew up on a family farm in New Hampshire and graduated from Smith College in 1915. She carried out her doctoral work at Harvard Medical School, but since she was female, her degree was awarded by Radcliffe College. As a graduate student, Ann Minot began research on lead poisoning, and eighteen of her nearly seventy papers were published before 1920.

Arriving at Vanderbilt in 1926, Minot served initially in Pharmacology and Pediatrics. Later, the Vanderbilt Blood Bank was established under her direction. Her greatest impact was that of a teacher. Minot held appointments at Meharry and often led discussions at the Nashville Academy of Medicine.