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Legacy

Dr. Elijah Saunders was born in Baltimore City in 1934. As a young student he received a BS degree from Morgan State College in 1956 and he received his MD degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1960. During his medical studies, he was one of only four African-Americans in his class of 140 students and was instrumental in helping to desegregate the medical wards. He then went on to become the first African-American resident in internal medicine at the University of Maryland School of medicine and the first African-American cardiologist in the state of Maryland in 1965. 

Following fellowship, Dr. Saunders led a successful private practice for the first 20 years of his career before he returned to the University of Maryland as a professor in Cardiology, where he pursued research on hypertension among African Americans. For many years, he led the Hypertension Division in the Department of Medicine. His critical research illuminated that ethnicity may influence the response to certain types of antihypertensive medications. As a result of his research and lobbying, it is now standard for trials to require African Americans to be included in research. Over his career, he published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and eight books.

Beyond his many achievements, including increasing African American representation in cardiovascular drug trials, being a founding member of the Association of Black Cardiologists, and co-founder of Heart House of the American College of Cardiology; Dr. Saunders was known for his positive demeanor, caring disposition, and gentle spirit. As a young black man growing up in Maryland with an interest in cardiology, Dr. Saunders was someone who I always admired. During my fourth year of medical school I spent an away rotation at the University of Maryland in hopes of training under Dr. Saunders, but was saddened to hear of his untimely passing prior to my arrival. However, I eagerly listened to his patient’s detailed stories regarding his intellect, compassion, dedication to health equity, and desire to bring healthcare to non-traditional spaces to reach the most at-risk populations. This experience quickly reaffirmed that Dr. Saunders was the type of cardiologist I hoped to emulate: clinically skilled, empathetic, and a leader in healthcare innovation. 

Despite improvements in health distribution inequalities, African-American communities are continuously  plagued with cardiovascular disease at an alarming rate. Some of the main contributors to the high burden of disease are the persistent and increasing degrees of limited access to healthy food, low socioeconomic status, and poor nutritional awareness.  To address this, Dr. Saunders advocated for community screening and outreach in barbershops and churches in order to engage the black community in non-traditional spaces. In 2006, he developed the Hair, Heart and Health program, an innovative program that trained barbers and hairstylists to pre-screen customers for hypertension and then make referrals for medical care.  

I believe as medical professionals we have two profound responsibilities. The first is to be an effective clinician. It is our obligation to treat and heal patients to the best of our abilities, while cultivating and promoting prevention. The second, and perhaps more important, is to go beyond the hospital walls and become an innovator in healthcare. We must identify roadblocks that may impede healthy practices, and provide sustainable solutions for these challenges. I hope that we can all mimic Dr. Saunders’s spirit for innovation and love of patient care. 

“The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

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COVID-19: Healthcare Workers vs The Vaccine

The mid-December rollout of two FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines coincided with a surge in US infections, as we surpassed 21 million cases and 300k deaths. Amidst the hope for a recovery from the virus, that has captivated the world for the past 10 months, the vaccine rollout was met with stiff resistance from many Americans. Of these, healthcare workers comprise the largest group of those refusing vaccination (albeit, healthcare workers also comprised the majority of people offered the early doses). This theme has persisted over the past few weeks. I will review some of the ideas behind the refusal of vaccine acceptance.

First, the headlines (taken from Forbes):

  • Last week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he was “troubled” by the relatively low numbers of nursing home workers who have elected to take the vaccine, with DeWine stating that approximately 60% of nursing home staff declined the shot.
  • Joseph Varon, chief of critical care at Houston’s United Memorial Medical Center, told NPR in December more than half of the nurses in his unit informed him they would not get the vaccine.
  • Roughly 55 percent of surveyed New York Fire Department firefighters said they would not get the coronavirus vaccine, the Firefighters Association president said last month.
  • The Los Angeles Times reported that hospital and public officials in Riverside, Calif., have been forced to figure out how best to allocate unused doses after an estimated 50% of frontline workers in the county refused the vaccine.
  • Fewer than half of the hospital workers at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Tehama County, Calif., were willing to be vaccinated, and around 20% to 40% of L.A. County’s frontline workers have reportedly declined an opportunity to take the vaccine.
  • Nikhila Juvvadi, the chief clinical officer at Chicago’s Loretto Hospital, said that a survey was administered in December, and 40% of the hospital staff said they would not get vaccinated.

Distrust For The Government Among Black/LatinX

Frontline workers in the United States are disproportionately Black and Hispanic. It is no surprise to my readers, as mentioned briefly in my AHA recap article(s), that structural racism is (and has been) a pervasive force within healthcare. “I’ve heard Tuskegee more times than I can count in the past month — and, you know, it’s a valid, valid concern,” said Dr. Juvvadi. This forms the crux of the argument made by minority frontline workers against receiving the vaccine. A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 29% of healthcare workers were hesitant to receive the vaccine, citing concerns related to potential side effects and a lack of faith in the government to ensure the vaccines were safe. Furthermore, dissenters question the involvement of Black/LatinX participants in the clinical trials that led to the development and deployment of at least two FDA-approved vaccines at the time of this article. Dr. Juvvadi told NPR that “there’s no transparency between pharmaceutical companies or research companies — or the government sometimes — on how many people from.” In an op-ed published in the New York Times last week, emergency physicians Benjamin Thomas and Monique Smith wrote that “vaccine reluctance is a direct consequence of the medical system’s mistreatment of Black people,” exemplified by the unethical surgeries performed by J. Marion Sims and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, that highlight “the culture of medical exploitation, abuse, and neglect of Black Americans.”

Altruism and Others More Deserving

Medicine is an inherently altruistic field, one that requires a dedication to the service and betterment of others. This theme has largely affected the sentiment concerning the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines. In an op-ed published earlier this week by Marty Makary MD MPH, a professor of surgery and health policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the case for delaying vaccination is made. Dr. Makary states:

“After a summer of corporate statements pledging that Black Lives Matter, America’s vaccine rollout is creating inequities stemming from a ruling class making rules to favor themselves. In the first two weeks after the FDA authorized the life-saving vaccine, hospital board members, spouses of physicians, cosmetic surgery receptionists, and young firefighters have been getting the vaccine ahead of our society’s most vulnerable. Low-risk Americans with access and power are cutting in the vaccine line and, by doing so, are essentially telling our society’s most vulnerable members ‘your life matters less.’”

Dr. Makary shares his experience as a physician who performs surgeries on COVID-negative patients in a sterile environment with the highest infection control precautions accounted for. Furthermore, he weighs his personal risk of having a complicated course of COVID-19 infection versus that of his elderly patients, many of whom have multiple comorbid medical conditions. He argues that low-risk healthcare workers, including those who have already been infected, defer their vaccination in order to allow for higher-risk individuals to receive a potentially life-saving intervention. This highlights the chasm in Medicine between altruism and self-preservation. Is it possible to do both?

I end with a quote from Dr. Makary, expressing his views on the matter:

“I’m not criticizing clinicians who get the vaccine — my personal decision might be different if I spent more time in the ICU, took more ER calls, or was at high risk of being a silent carrier of the virus, putting my patients at risk. But that’s not me. Given my very low personal risk of mortality and my very low risk of getting the virus in my clinical work, I have joined a growing chorus of healthcare workers who have taken a pledge to not get the vaccine until every high-risk American has been offered it first.”

Thank you for reading, and please feel free to reach out to me with comments or questions on Twitter @DrDapo.

 

“The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

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#BlackCardioInHistory: Dr. Hannah A Valantine

This is part of the #BlackCardioInHistory series.  #AHAEarlyCareerVoice is partnering with #BlackInCardio to feature a series of profiles of black/African American Cardiologists for #BlackInCardioWeek2020.  For more information: blackincardio.com


(3) The NIH Director. Statement on the Retirement of Dr. Hannah Valantine. 9-1-2020. https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/statement-retirement-dr-hannah-valantine

Originally from The Gambia, West Africa, Hannah Valantine moved to London, where she studied Biochemistry and then obtained a medical degree from St. George’s Hospital Medical School in 1978 (1). She completed her post-graduate work in cardiology at two hospitals in London: Brompton and Hammersmith (2). She moved to the United States, where she was awarded an NIH Director’s Pathfinder Award for Diversity in the Scientific Workforce (2). She became a fellow and worked her way up to being a Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine before being appointed as Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Faculty Development in 2005 (1).

In 2014 Dr. Valantine was appointed as NIH’s first Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity, a new position with the entire focus being on diversity in biomedicine (2).

During her time at the NIH, she established the Distinguished Scholars Program, which has had a dramatic, positive impact on the diversity of tenure-track investigators at NIH (3). To implement the recommendations of the NIH Equity Taskforce, she developed and implemented the first NIH Workplace Climate and Harassment Survey (3). This scientifically rigorous survey achieved a high response rate from NIH employees, contractors, fellows, and trainees who will have a lasting impact on institutions around the United States (3).

Dr. Valantine also designed the Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) program which is aimed at creating cultures of inclusivity at NIH-funded institutions (3). She also pioneered a program to mentor and support scientists from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in writing effective grant applications (3).

In September 2020, Dr Valantine’s retirement was announced after what has been a truly remarkable career (3). Dr. Valentine’s career embodies the representation that institutions around the country and world are striving to have, and she is a role model for what other underrepresented scientists can achieve. Her work has and will continue to open doors for people in underrepresented groups in science and medicine.

 

Reference

  1. Hannah Valantine. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Valantine. Accessed 10-19-2020.2.
  2. Hannah Valantine, M.D., named NIH’s first Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity. 1-30-2014. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/hannah-valantine-md-named-nihs-first-chief-officer-scientific-workforce-diversity
  3. The NIH Director. Stetement on the Retirement of Dr. Hannah Valantine. 9-1-2020. https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/statement-retirement-dr-hannah-valantine

“The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

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#BlackCardioInHistory: A Profile of Dr. Charles Rotimi – Director of the Trans-National Institutes of Health (NIH) center for research in genomics and global health

This is part of #BlackCardioInHistory series.  #AHAEarlyCareerVoice is partnering with #BlackInCardio to feature a series of profiles of black/African American Cardiologists for #BlackInCardioWeek2020.  For more information: blackincardio.com


Photo Credit: Anna Azvolinsky (The scientist) https://www.the-scientist.com/profile/charles-rotimi-works-to-ensure-genetic-epidemiology-and-population-genetics-studies-include-dna-from-africannot-just-europeanpopulations–64818

Dr. Charles Rotimi (1957- ), originally from Benin city, Nigeria is the Director of the Trans-National Institutes of Health (NIH) center for research in genomics and global health (1, 2). Dr. Rotimi obtained his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Benin in Nigeria before immigrating to the United States for further studies (1). He started his education in the United States at the University of Mississippi, where he obtained a master’s degree in health care administration and then a second master’s degree and a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health (1). Dr. Rotimi was the director of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University before embarking on a new journey at the NIH (1).

In 2008  Dr. Rotimi joined the  NIH, He was instrumental in establishing the trans-institute Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health, with its mission to advance research in the role of culture, lifestyle, and genomics in disease etiology, health disparities, and variable drug response (1, 3). His lab develops genetic epidemiology models and conducts epidemiologic studies that explore the patterns and determinants of common complex diseases in human populations with particular emphasis on populations of the African Diaspora (1).

In 1994, his team published the first genome-wide scan for hypertension and blood pressure in African Americans and type-2 diabetes in West Africans (4). One important piece of this study is that Dr Rotimi and his team compiled genomic data from ~6,000 individuals and came up with 21 different global genetic ancestries (4). The research demonstrated that more than 97 percent of humans have mixed ancestry (4), indicating that the traditional race labels such as “Black,” “white,” and “Hispanic” are insufficient ways to classify humans.

Dr. Rotimi followed this up with another paper published in 1997 that examined over 10,000 samples to estimate the impact of environmental factors on geographically separated Black populations in the United States, Caribbean, and West Africa (5). This study found that Black men and women in the United States had significantly higher rates of hypertension compared to the Caribbean, which had higher hypertension rates than West Africa (5). The increased rates of hypertension track with traditional migration patterns and suggest that environmental factors, including psychosocial stress, play a large role (5).

R(5) Figure 3 from C Rotimi, R Cooper, G Cao, C Sundarum, D McGee. Familial aggregation of cardiovascular diseases in African-American pedigrees. Genet Epidemiol . 1994;11(5):397-407. doi: 10.1002/gepi.1370110502. *Note – Maywood refers to Maywood, Illinois (the site in the United States)

With such a distinguished career, it is of no surprise that Dr. Charles Rotimi has been elected on to many boards, being bestowed with an honorary professorship at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and even more impressively being elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2018 (1). Dr. Rotimi is a Senior Investigator within the Intramural Research Program at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the NIH (1). He has won the NIH Director’s Award for leading the establishment of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Initiative (2012) and he is the first person of African ancestry to be elected to the Board of the American Society of Human Genetics (1). He was also a recipient of the HudsonAlpha Life Science Prize in 2018 (1).

 

Reference

  1. Genome Collector: A Profile of Charles Rotimi. TheScientist. 9/30/2018. Anna Azvolinsky. https://www.the-scientist.com/profile/charles-rotimi-works-to-ensure-genetic-epidemiology-and-population-genetics-studies-include-dna-from-africannot-just-europeanpopulations–64818
  2. Charles N. Rotimi. Genome.gov. https://www.genome.gov/staff/Charles-N-Rotimi-PhD
  3. Charles Rotimi, Ph.D. Principle Investigator – IRP-NIH. https://irp.nih.gov/pi/charles-rotimi
  4. R Cooper, C Rotimi, S Ataman, D McGee, B Osotimehin, S Kadiri, W Muna, S Kingue, H Fraser, T Forrester, F Bennett, and R Wilks. The prevalence of hypertension in seven populations of west African origin. Am J Public Health. 1997 February; 87(2): 160–168.
  5. C Rotimi, R Cooper, G Cao, C Sundarum, D McGee. Familial aggregation of cardiovascular diseases in African-American pedigrees. Genet Epidemiol . 1994;11(5):397-407. doi: 10.1002/gepi.1370110502.

 

 

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#BlackCardioInHistory: Daniel Hale Williams – Pioneer in open-heart surgery in the United States

This is part of the #BlackCardioInHistory series.  #AHAEarlyCareerVoice is partnering with #BlackInCardio to feature a series of profiles of black/African American Cardiologists for #BlackInCardioWeek2020.  For more information: blackincardio.com


Daniel Hale Williams III was born to a family that owned a barber business and worked in the Equal Rights League in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1856 (1). Young Daniel moved to Baltimore as a young boy to become a shoemaker’s apprentice when his father died but did not like the work (1). His family had moved to Illinois, so he moved back with them and began barbering with the long-term goal of pursuing his education (1).

Daniel Hale Williams III apprenticed with Dr. Henry Palmer, who was an accomplished surgeon. From there, Daniel attended the Chicago Medical College (1).

(2) Daniel Hale Williams (Pre 1923 photograph, public domain). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Daniel_Hale_Williams.jpg From Wikipedia page: Daniel Hale Williams.

After completing medical school, Dr. Williams began to practice on Chicago’s south side while teaching anatomy at the Chicago Medical College (1). He was an early adopter of Louis Pasteur’s sterilization to prevent transmission of infection (1).

In the late 1880s in America, Black Americans were prevented from being admitted to hospitals and could not be hired at hospitals (1). While Black women had a long history of working as nurses, they were often denied opportunities for formal training (3). Dr. Daniel Hale Williams III disagreed with this practice and opened the Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses which was the first hospital in the United States that was racially integrated (1).

(3) Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses (36th and Dearborn Streets, Chicago). Chicago History Museum (ICHi-040212). https://www.chicagohistory.org/provident-hospital/. Brittany Hutchinson.

A few years later, in 1893, Dr. Williams treated a man with a significant stab wound to the chest, named James Cornish (1). Dr. Williams successfully sutured the man’s pericardium allowing Cornish to live for many years. Only 3 other surgeons, Dr. Francisco Romero, Dr. Henry Dalton, and Dr. Dominique Jean Larrey, have been credited as performing open-heart surgery previously (1,4). One year later, in 1894, Dr. Williams was appointed as Chief Surgeon of the Freedmen’s Hospital, which has seen a high relative mortality rate. He moved back to Chicago upon marrying Alice Johnson, where he continued working for Provident Hospital (1).

(2) Daniel Hale Williams (National Library of Medicine believes this to be public domain). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daniel_H._Williams.jpg From Wikipedia page: Daniel Hale Williams.

In 1897 Dr. Williams was appointed to the Illinois Department of Public Health to increase medical standards in hospitals (2). In 1913, Dr. Williams was the only Black American member of the American College of Surgeons (5). Dr. Williams died in 1931 in Idlewild, Michigan from a stroke (2). Some of Dr. Williams’s honors include membership in the Chicago Surgical Society and American College of Surgeons, which were both uncommon for Black Americans at the time (2). Dr. Williams also received honorary degrees from Howard University in Washington DC and Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio (2).

 

Reference

  1. Biograhy.com Daniel Hale Williams Biography. 6/5/2020. https://www.biography.com/scientist/daniel-hale-williams. Accessed 10-19-2020.
  2. Daniel Hale Williams (Pre 1923 photograph, public domain). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Hale_Williams#cite_note-EB-6 From Wikipedia page: Daniel Hale Williams
  3. Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses (36th and Dearborn Streets, Chicago). Chicago History Museum (ICHi-040212). https://www.chicagohistory.org/provident-hospital/. Brittany Hutchinson.
  4. Wikipedia.com Henry Dalton. 4/4/2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Dalton. Accessed 10-19-20
  5. Daniel Hale Williams American Physician. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2018.

 

“The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

 

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#BlackCardioInHistory: Dr. Edward William Hawthorne

This is part of the #BlackCardioInHistory series.  #AHAEarlyCareerVoice is partnering with #BlackInCardio to feature a series of profiles of black/African American Cardiologists for #BlackInCardioWeek2020.  For more information: blackincardio.com


Edward William Hawthorne was born near Port Gibson, Mississippi as the son of a minister and teacher. He suffered from polio at the age of 7 (1). He graduated high school in Washington DC and began his undergraduate study at Fisk University but later transferred to Howard University (1). It was at Howard University where Hawthorne spent most of the rest of his life.

(2) https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2018/02/13/14/42/harold-on-history-black-history-month-and-pioneering-african-american-physicians. Photo Credit: Howard University.

Hawthorne earned his bachelor’s in science degree in 1941 and completed his medical degree in 1946 (1). Hawthorne was an intern at Freedmen’s Hospital from 1946-1947 and developed an interest in research, especially in the cardiovascular field (1). Dr. Hawthorne completed a Masters in Science in physiology in 1949, and then a Ph.D. in physiology in 1951, both from the University of Illinois in Chicago (1). This would be Hawthorne’s only stint away from Washington DC.

In 1951 Dr. Hawthorne moved back to Washington DC as he was appointed to faculty at Howard University(1). Dr. Howard helped organize masters and doctoral graduate programs in physiology at Howard and a laboratory focusing on cardiovascular research(1). Dr. Hawthorne was the head of the physiology department until 1969(1). All the while Dr. Hawthorne was moving ranks of the administration. He was assistant Dean of the College of Medicine from 1962-1967, associate Dean of the College of Medicine until 1970, and Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1974. During these appointments, he was also Chairmen of the department of physiology and biophysics in 1969-1974(1).

Hawthorne referred to his research as “a personal vendetta against ignorance”(1). Dr. Hawthorne was a leader in Renal physiology research and utilized animal models ranging from rats, rabbits, dogs, and horses(1). Dr. Hawthorne was a pioneer in using techniques to measure heart function and size in conscious animals(1). In 3 papers from 1959 and 1962, both published in Circulation Research, Hawthorne examines hypertension and left ventricle size in dogs (3, 4, 5). Dr. Hawthorne pioneered an experimental hypertension model in dogs consisting of constricting the brachiocephalic and left subclavian arteries surgically(5).

Figure 1 from Chronic experimental hypertension in dogs after constriction of brachiocephalic and left subclavian arteries. HAWTHORNE EW, et al. Circ Res. 1962. PMID: 13905535.

Dr. Hawthorne would go on to publish many papers on cardiovascular physiology, which ultimately led to his election as a fellow of the American College of Cardiology in 1969 and vice president of the American Heart Association from 1969-1972(1). He was also active in predominantly Black associations, including the John A. Andrew Clinical Society, Alpha Omega Alpha, Alpha Phi Alpha, and Association of Former Interns and Residents of Freedmen’s Hospital. In 1980 he was elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences(1). Dr. Hawthorne died in October 1986, only 4 months after his final manuscript was published(6). Dr. Hawthorne is remembered as a pioneer for cardiovascular physiology research and education and a pioneer in the field of hypertension.

 

Reference

  1. Hawthorne, Edward William. https://doi-org. /10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1201084 American National Biography. Accessed 10-19-2020
  2. https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2018/02/13/14/42/harold-on-history-black-history-month-and-pioneering-african-american-physicians. Photo Credit: Howard University.
  3. Instantaneous dimensional changes of the left ventricle in dogs. HAWTHORNE EW. Circ Res. 1961. PMID: 13712425.
  4. Telemetering of ventricular circumference in dogs. HAWTHORNE EW, et al. J Appl Physiol. 1961. PMID: 13905534.
  5. Chronic experimental hypertension in dogs after constriction of brachicephalic and left subclavian arteries. HAWTHORNE EW, et al. Circ Res. 1962. PMID: 13905535.
  6. Estimation of left ventricular mass in conscious dogs. B Coleman, L N Cothran, E L Ison-Franklin, E W Hawthorne. Among authors: hawthorne ew. Am J Physiol. 1986. PMID: 3789168

“The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

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#BlackCardioInHistory: Dr. Marie Maynard Daly

This is part of the #BlackCardioInHistory series.  #AHAEarlyCareerVoice is partnering with #BlackInCardio to feature a series of profiles of black/African American Cardiologists for #BlackInCardioWeek2020.  For more information: blackincardio.com


Photo credit: Ted Burrows, Archives of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/marie-maynard-daly)

Dr. Marie Maynard Daly (1921-2003) became the first African American woman to receive a PhD in Chemistry. Dr. Daly was born in Queens, New York. She had the ambition to become a chemist through the influences of her father, who was on track to graduate from Cornell with an undergraduate degree in Chemistry when he was forced to drop out because of financial circumstances. Dr. Daly graduated magna cum laude from Queens College in New York with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. She then enrolled in a Master’s program in Chemistry at New York University and graduated in 1 year while working at Queens College as a part-time laboratory assistant.

Marie M. Daly Biography. Biography.com/scientist/marie-m-daly 08/26/2020

From NYU, soon to be Dr. Daly enrolled in a doctoral program at Columbia. Her dissertation was titled A Study of the Products Formed by Action of Pancreatic Amylase on Corn Starch. Dr. Daly received her PhD in Chemistry in 1947 and was the first African American woman to receive a PhD in chemistry in the United States. Dr. Daly went on to teach at Howard University and then began researching at the Rockefeller Institute in New York as a post-doctoral fellow. After 7 years at the Rockefeller Institute, Dr. Daly started to teach at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York in 1955. She continued her research while at Columbia studying arterial metabolism.

Dr. Daly made seminal findings in arterial metabolism. In particular, she published findings of how respiration and cytochrome oxidase activity are altered in rat aortas during hypertension which was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine in 1958. In 1960 Dr. Daly moved to Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University and from 1958 to 1963, Dr. Daly was an investigator for the American Heart Association.

M.M. DALY, E.G. GURPIDE. J Exp Med. 1959 Feb 1;109(2):187-95. doi: 10.1084/jem.109.2.187. PMID: 13620848

In 1963 Dr. Daly published another paper, this time examining the concentration of cholesterol and cholesterol synthesis in hypertensive rats, which she published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. In 1970 Dr. Daly published a methods paper on how to isolate intimal-medial tissues in arteries from rabbits. Dr. Daly was an integral part of the early molecular study using small mammal models to examine atherosclerosis and hypertension and was a pioneer in cardiovascular research.

M.M. DALY, Q.B. DEMING, V.M. RAEFF, L.M. BRUN. J Clin Invest. 1963 Oct;42(10):1606-12. doi: 10.1172/JCI104845. PMID: 14074354

H. WOLINSKY, M.M. DALY. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1970 Nov;135(2):364-8. doi: 10.3181/00379727-135-35052. PMID: 4921030

WOLINSKY, M.M. DALY. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1970 Nov;135(2):364-8. doi: 10.3181/00379727-135-35052. PMID: 4921030

Thus, it is not surprising that Dr. Daly was a member of the board of governors of the New York Academy of Sciences along with being a fellow of the American Cancer Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, New York Academy of Sciences, and Council of the American Heart Association. In 1999, just 4 years before her death, the National Technical Association recognized Dr. Daly as one of the top 50 women in Science, Engineering, and Technology. Finally, in 2016, a new elementary school was named The Dr. Marie M. Daly Academy of Excellence after Dr. Daly and her many achievements.

 

“The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”