5 Women of Color Who Changed How We Think About the Brain
Dr. Margaret Lawrence (top right), Dr. T.S. Kanaka (top left), Dr. Alexa Canady (bottom left), Dr. Herminia Pasantes (middle left), Dr. Xiaowei Zhuang (bottom right)
Close your eyes and picture a scientist. Are you imagining an older white man with crazy hair in a lab coat, something like Albert Einstein? Well, there certainly have been scientists that look like him, but there have also been many brilliant female scientists and medical professionals of color whose discoveries and work are just as important. Many of these folks have been important contributors to what we know about the brain today. These include psychiatrists (who help diagnose and give medication to people with mental health disorders), neuroscientists (who do research in labs to learn more about the brain), psychologists (who help people work through and learn to cope with complex and difficult times in their lives), and neurologists (who help treat disorders of the nervous system). Here are just a handful of the many women of color who have changed how we think about the brain:
Dr. Margaret Lawrence (top right) was the first Black female psychiatrist in the United States and began her career at New York Presbyterian Hospital in the 1940s. She studied children’s mental health and used play and art to help children who had been through traumatic events. She worked with families in Harlem for many decades and was one of the first women and Black medical professionals at each step in her career. You can learn more about her life and career here: https://healthmatters.nyp.org/happened-dr-margaret-morgan-lawrence/
Dr. T.S Kanaka (top left) was the first female neurosurgeon in Asia, where she performed many complicated procedures. She began conducting surgeries and research in India in the 1950s when men dominated the field and made important contributions to surgical techniques that are used to treat brain disorders and diseases today. Later in her life, she worked as a medical officer for the Indian army and established a foundation to provide medical care for people who could not afford it. She was also awarded the record for most individual blood donations by the Limca Book of Records. You can learn more about her life and career here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00268-021-06286-y
Dr. Alexa Canady (bottom left) initially got a degree in zoology, but went on to medical school in 1975 after she participated in a summer program to learn about genetics, soon becoming the first Black female neurosurgeon in America. She became the Chief of Neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital of Michigan until she retired in 2001, only to come out of retirement upon discovering her skills as a pediatric neurosurgeon were sorely needed in her area. You can learn more about her life and career here: https://medicine.iu.edu/blogs/women-in-medicine/black-history-month-honors-alexa-canady-md-first-african-american-woman-neurosurgeon
Dr. Herminia Pasantes (middle left) is a Mexican neuroscientist and writer. The first in her family to go to college, she studied biology. She went on to receive her Master’s degree in biochemistry and then her doctorate. Dr. Pasantes was the first woman to receive Mexico’s prestigious “National Science and Arts Award.” She is currently a professor and researcher at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and is passionate about mentoring young scientists. You can learn more about her life and career here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnana.2023.1179254/full
Dr. Xiaowei Zhuang (bottom right) is a Chinese-American biophysicist who invented a new kind of super powerful microscope that is currently used in biological research. Her invention allows for cells and tissue to be visualized at a scale and resolution never before possible. Dr. Xiaowei Zhuang is now a professor and researcher at Harvard University. You can learn more about her life and career here: https://scientificinquirer.com/2023/05/18/xiaowei-zhuang-a-trailblazer-in-the-field-of-single-molecule-biology/
Today, female scientists and medical professionals of color all around the world continue to help us learn more about the brain! While major improvements still must be made to welcome and support women of color in the field, more and more each day are participating at every level of science and medicine. Women of color have unique experiences and insights that are invaluable to scientific progress, and we should celebrate and lift up their many contributions!
Images & additional sources:
Dr. Xiaowei Zhuang (image credit: Fred Field https://zhuang.harvard.edu/)
Dr. Margaret Lawrence (image credit: Ed Maker/The Denver Post, via Getty Images, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/08/obituaries/margaret-lawrence-dead.html, additional source: https://healthmatters.nyp.org/happened-dr-margaret-morgan-lawrence/)
Dr. TS Kanaka (image credit: SS Kumar, The Hindu https://homegrown.co.in/homegrown-creators/dr-t-s-kanaka-fought-all-odds-to-become-asias-first-female-neurosurgeon, additional source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6703064/)
Dr. Herminia Pasantes (image courtesy of Herminia Pasantes, additional source: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/herminia-pasantes-taurine-brain-cell-neuroscience)
Dr. Alexa Canady (image credit: Brian Lanker, https://sdvoice.info/interview-dr-alexa-canady-teaches-us-to-remain-calm-in-the-face-of-obstacles/)
Edited by Alexandra Fink
