Famous Black Doctors

Name Number School Attended Specialty Contribution to Minority

Community James McCune Smith

(April 28, 1813- Nov.

17, 1865)

1 University of Glasgow Physician, apothecary,

abolitionist, author and

public intellectual

Smith was the first black person

to earn a degree and practice

medicine in this country. He

paved the way for many black

doctors. Smith used science and his

knowledge of medicine to refute

false claims of slavery

advocates. Ben Carson

(Sept. 18, 1951-

Present)

2 Yale University and

University of Michigan

Medical School

Neurosurgeon His autobiography “Gifted

Hands” really emphasizes the

challenges he faced to get to

where he is at today and

motivates future medical

students Charles Modlin

3 Northwestern

University in Evanston,

Northwestern

University Medical

School in Chicago and

New York University

Kidney Transplant

Surgeon and Urologist

Founded and directs the

Minority Men’s Health Center

associated with Cleveland Clinic

Harold P. Freeman

(Mar. 2, 1933-Present)

4 Catholic University of

America and Howard

University College of

Medicine

Surgical oncology Pioneered the “Patient

Navigation Program” which

addresses disparities in access to

treatment, particularly among

poor and uninsured people. Keith L. Black

(Sept 13, 1957-

Present)

5 University of Michigan

Medical School

Neurosurgeon, Scientist

and leading researcher in

the field of cancer

treatment

Published his autobiography

entitled Brain Surgeon sharing

his pathway to success despite

all the challenges he faced along

the way.

Wesley L. Hicks Jr.

6 Cornell, Meharry

Medical College,

School of Medicine

and Biomedical

Sciences, State

University of New

York at Buffalo

Otolaryngology Head of the Roswell Park

Cancer Institute. His research

interests focus on tissue

engineering, wound healing and

mechanisms involved in wound

repair.

Alexa Canady

(Nov. 7, 1950- Present)

7 University of

Michigan’s Medical

School

Neurosurgeon First African American woman

in the US to become a

neurosurgeon specializing in

hydrocephalus, congenital spine

abnormalities, skull

abnormalities and brain and

spinal tumors.

Famous Black Doctors

Name Number School Attended Specialty Contribution to Minority

Community

Patricia Bath

(Nov. 4th, 1942-

Present)

8 Hunter College and

Howard University Ophthalmologist First African American to

complete a residency in

ophthalmology and the first

African-American female doctor

to receive a medical patent Matthias Okoye

9 University of Lagos

College of Medicine, University of Kansas

Medical Center,

University of Missouri-

Kansas City and Detroit

College of Law at

Michigan State University

Director of Forensic

Pathology and President

and CEO of the law firm

Okoye & Associates

As a respected contributor to

both the medical and legal

professions he has lectured and

published extensively in the

fields of forensic sciences, legal

medicine, forensic medicine and

pathology.

Michael L. Parks

10 Duke Medical

University of South

Carolina

Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Parks has made Castle

Connolly’s list of top doctors

and been recognized in

publications such as The

Network Journal, New York

Times, and Money Magazine. Charles Crutchfield III

11 Mayo Clinic Graduate

School of Medicine Dermatologist Received Mayo Clinic’s “Karis”

humanitarian award and is active

in medical research involving

psoriasis, pseudo folliculitis

barbae, and acne keloidalis

nuchae. Carolyn Barley Britton

12 New York University Internist Her work at the National

Institute of Allergy and

Infectious Diseases helped

produce the changes in federal

clinical research guidelines to

require inclusion of women and

minorities Lynne V. Perry-

Böttinger

13 Yale Medical School

and Harvard University Cardiologist

A leader in a movement called

gender-based medicine, which

takes into account the

differences between men and

women in diagnosis, treatment,

medication and basic

physiology. Olakunle Akinboboye

14 University of Ibadan

College of Medicine,

State University of

New York and

Columbia University

Nuclear Cardiologist National President of the

Association of Black

Cardiologists in the USA

Hilda Hutcherson

15 Stanford University

and Harvard Obstetrics & gynecology Associate Dean for Diversity

and Minority Affairs at

Columbia

Famous Black Doctors

Name Number School Attended Specialty Contribution to Minority

Community

LaSalle D. Leffall

(May 22, 1930-

Present)

16 Howard University

College of Medicine

(M.D.)

Surgeon, oncologist Leffall developed programs and

emphasized the importance of

this study for the benefit of the

African American population

and other ethnic groups Rosalyn P. Scott

17 New York University

School of Medicine Thoracic Surgeon Founding member of the Society

of Black Academic Surgeons, as

well as the founding member of

the Association of Black

Cardiovascular and Thoracic

Surgeons Velma Scantlebury

(Born in 1950- Present)

18 Columbia University Women transplant

surgeon As the first African American

woman transplant surgeon in the

country, she’s used her expertise

to spread knowledge about her

field within the black

community. She is on the board

for the American Society of

Minority Health and Transplant

Professional Claudia L. Thomas

19 Yale University and

Johns Hopkins Orthopedic Surgeon Wrote an autobiography, God

Spare Life, about her struggle to

break boundaries

L.D. Britt

20 University of Virginia,

Harvard’s Medical

School and Harvard

School of Public

Health.

General Surgery/ Trauma Executive director of the Society

of Black Academic Surgeons

Levi Watkins

(June 13th, 1944- April

11, 2015)

21 Vanderbilt University

Medical School Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Watkins’ interest in

worldwide human rights led him

to start the annual Martin Luther

King commemoration at

Hopkins in 1982 Regina Benjamin

(October 26, 1956-

Present)

22 Tulane University,

Xavier University of

Louisiana Morehouse

School of Medicine

and University of

Alabama

General Surgeon Erected a clinic in a fishing

village in Alabama to help tend

to the medical needs of

uninsured residents and worked

as the 18th U.S. surgeon general,

appointed by President Barack

Obama in 2009. Benjamin

continues to inspire many people

by sharing her own personal

challenges she went through.

"The Top 21: Our List of Outstanding Black Doctors." MadameNoire RSS. N.p., 01 Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.