LeadershipThe Founding Executive Director, Randall C. Morgan, Jr., M.D., MBA, serves as President & CEO and the leading visionary of the organization, working with the Board of Directors, Faculty and Staff to further advance the The Cobb Institute's mission. The Board of Directors is led by Board Chairman, Alvin Crawford, MD, to guide the strategic planning activities toward the fulfillment of The Institute’s mission and vision. President and CEO
Randall C. Morgan, Jr., MD, MBA, is the President and CEO of the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute based in Washington, D.C. In that role he leads a staff of scholars and research specialists who focus upon the elimination of Health Disparities. He is also an active orthopedic surgeon who has practiced in Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida since 2005. He serves as founder and President of University Park Orthopedics in that community. He is also Clinical Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Florida State School of Medicine and is also a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Connecticut. He is a graduate of Grinnell College with a B.A. in Chemistry. He received the M.D. degree from Howard University. He served as a resident in Orthopedic Surgery at Northwestern University and served a Pediatric Orthopedic Fellowship at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati. He later received an MBA degree from the University of South Florida. Dr. Morgan served as the 95th President of the National Medical Association during the years 1996 and 1997. He was the first board-certified orthopedic surgeon to hold that position. Dr. Morgan is a true pioneer in his profession and was among the first surgeons to perform total joint replacement surgery at Northwestern University. Dr. Morgan has practiced General Orthopedic Surgery and Pediatric Orthopedics in Evanston, Illinois, and as well in his hometown of Gary, Indiana, for more than 30 years prior to his relocation to Sarasota. With the assistance of his father, Mr. Randall C. Morgan, Sr., he founded the Orthopedic Centers of Northwest Indiana and served as its president from 1975 to 1999. At one time, this was the largest minority-owned orthopedic practice in the United States. He has written and published extensively throughout his career on Orthopedics, Social Responsibility, Health Equity and the Education Pipeline for Underrepresented young scholars. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and the American Board of Managed Care Medicine. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha honorary medical society.
Board of Directors
BOARD CHAIRMAN, 2022-2025 Alvin H Crawford MD, FACS graduated Cum Laude in Chemistry and Music from Tennessee State University. In 1964, he became the first African American to graduate from the University Of Tennessee College Of Medicine, began his residency at Boston Naval Hospital and completed it at the combined Harvard University Orthopaedic Program. Postgraduate fellowships included Otto Aufranc Reconstructive Surgery of the Hip; Pediatric Orthopaedics-Spine at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Alfred I. DuPont Institute, Senior Scoliosis Research Society Asian Traveling Fellowship, OREF Carl-Berg Traveling Fellowship, Chief of Clinical service, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Xavier University Physician Management Certificates. He received the Navy Commendation Medal for developing the first Pediatric Orthopaedic and Scoliosis Clinic at San Diego Naval Hospital. He was Director of Orthopaedic Surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for 29 years and upon retirement to Emeritus was awarded endowed Chairs in Pediatric Orthopaedics and Spinal Surgery and the Crawford Spine Center was dedicated in his name. Specializing in treating Scoliosis, he is considered an authority on video-assisted Thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and Neurofibromatosis in children. A prolific author, publishing over 200 peer reviewed articles, more than 63 chapters, and six books. Cited as one of the Top 10 Educators in the first 100 Years of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, (only surgeon), and country’s best doctors since 1996.Presidential Guest Speaker at 77th (2002) Annual meeting of the French Orthopaedic Society (SOFCOT) Awarded honorary medal(s) for work on Neurofibromatosis in Children; and for achievements in field of endoscopic surgery of the spine via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Awards include Founder’s Award from the Cincinnati Pediatric Society and Tennessee State University, past President of the John Robert Gladden Society, which annually presents the “Alvin H Crawford MD mentoring award”, first African American president of the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS), Daniel Drake award (2006) from the University of Cincinnati, its highest academic award, 2007 AAOS Diversity Award, 2009 Candle in the dark award from Morehouse college, 2008, Trumpet Award heralding the accomplishment of a Black American who has inspired others in Medicine, business or entertainment, presented the prestigious SRS Paul Harrington, MD Lecture in 2012, Presidential Oration at the Indian Pediatric Orthopaedic Society in 2013. Lifetime Achievement Award (LAA) from Cincinnati Center for Closing the Health Gap, (Mayor Mark Mallory proclaimed May 8, 2013 to be Dr Alvin Crawford day in Cincinnati), the Laurel Wreath Award from Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, its highest award. In 2013, “Great Living Cincinnatian” Award for his medical and civic contributions, 2014. Distinguished Achievement Award and “Hall of Fame” from the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Scoliosis Research Society, 2015 Lifetime Achievement Healthcare Hero Award from the Cincinnati Business Courier;, Cobb Fellow of W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute, a leader for equality in Medicine, increasing access to treatment and care for African Americans and promotion of optimal health, Honoris Causa’s “Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery” Ioannina Greece, Hon Causa University of Cincinnati 2018, Commencement speaker University Of Tennessee College Of Medicine 2015, and University of Cincinnati College Of Medicine 2016, Hibbs Lecturer Scoliosis Research Society. He was POSNA’s first African American member, Presidential guest speaker, Distinguished Achievement Award and now “Hall of Fame” member. He was highlighted by POSNA Diversity Task force on Black History Month 2021. He has been honored with an MPOWER House at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine The houses, named after notable UTHSC alumni and faculty, are the Conyers-York House, Crawford House, Diggs House, and Seddon House. Since mentorship is at the heart of MPOWER, each house has at least seven faculty mentors, who meet one-on-one with M1 students to discuss professional and personal development. Each faculty advisor will also have a support team of 15 to 17 second- through fourth-year medical students, who serve as peer advisers and address the demands and stresses of daily academic life and career choice. Two resident mentors’ help along with several other mentors from various years make up the rest of the mentoring team. Dr. Crawford has had a longstanding commitment to inclusive Orthopaedic education, both domestically and abroad. He has educated hundreds of Orthopaedic surgery residents and 57 pediatric Orthopaedic fellows, including many from outside the United States. Dr. Crawford has been committed to advancing pediatric and scoliosis surgery around the world and has taught and/or operated in 43 countries. In acknowledgement of his tremendous efforts and service, in 2007 he was the recipient of the AAOS Diversity Award for his commitment to increasing diversity in the fields of Orthopaedics, and particularly in scoliosis surgery. He has been admitted to the Hall of Fame of Historical Black Colleges and Universities. In 2022 the American Orthopaedic Association designated Dr. Crawford as an AOA Pillar of the Orthopaedic Profession. This program is a way for those he has mentored and trained throughout his career to honor his leadership and contributions to them and the orthopedic profession. In 2020 he started Black Men in Medicine Cincinnati (BMIMC), a mentoring program for African American male medical students, a diminishing, under-represented and at-risk group. The mentors work with the students and serve as examples of the possibilities - the mentoring philosophy for the kids follows the logic “it’s hard to be what you can’t see”. His passion for music has continued throughout his life. He started playing the clarinet in 7th grade, started college as a Music major, and has continued to play in local community classical and jazz bands. He is a past memory of the Cincinnati Symphony orchestra. He believes that his love of surgery and music have been mutually beneficial and helped him become better in both areas, because “if you’re going to play in a musical group, then everyone (as in the black and white keys on the piano, has to play together) in the same key, rhythm section, bass etc, all of the parts have to play together…and if you’re going to perform orthopedic surgery, you have to have an OR team, surgeon’s, nurses, technicians etc who have to focus (in the same key) and all have to play together. He is a retired 21 year board director for Ohio National Financial Services Insurance Company and a member of AACE. AACE is Major League Baseball’s approach to diversity by recruiting minority owners, I.e. African American Capital Equity Ownership of the Cincinnati Reds National League baseball franchise. He is a board member of Tennis for Charities who sponsor the Western Southern ATP tennis championships in Cincinnati. He currently assists in Jazz history at the College Conservatory of Music, and is a member of its Dean’s Advisory Council. Dr. Crawford is a retired Captain in the US Navy, having received a Secretary of the Navy Commendation Medal for 1987 West African training cruise (Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria). He has been married to Alva Jean for 59 wonderful years, father to (Alvin, Charlotte) daughter Carole, and a proud grandfather to Mia, Elle and Uma. He remains a musician and tennis enthusiast. ANDRÉ L. CHURCHWELL, M.D., FACS
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
BOARD MEMBER, 2020-2023 André L. Churchwell is the vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer for Vanderbilt University. He is the inaugural Levi Watkins, Jr., M.D. Chair and previously served as the chief diversity officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center and senior associate dean for diversity affairs in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Churchwell is a Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering. Churchwell graduated from the Vanderbilt School of Engineering magna cum laude in 1975. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1979 and later completed his internship, residency and cardiology fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine and affiliated hospitals in Atlanta. In addition, he was the first African American chief medical resident at Grady Memorial Hospital (1984–1985). After completing his training, he joined the faculty at Emory, where he served as the first director of diversity for the medical school from 1985 to 1991. In 1986, he received a Harold Amos/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Minority Medical Faculty Development Award, a postdoctoral research award offered to historically disadvantaged medical professionals who are committed to developing careers in academic medicine and serving as role models for those of similar background. Churchwell worked with his mentor, Don Giddens, to study coronary artery fluid mechanics and its role in atherogenesis. He returned to his hometown and Vanderbilt as a School of Medicine faculty member in 1991. After being named associate dean for diversity in graduate medical education and faculty affairs in 2007, Churchwell worked with Dean Jeffrey Balser to create a diversity plan to significantly increase underrepresented (URM) applicants to graduate medical education (GME). In 2011, Churchwell was named dean of diversity for undergraduate medical education in addition to his GME and faculty affairs roles. Churchwell and his team’s work, building on that of prior associate deans for diversity, has resulted in more diverse Vanderbilt University School of Medicine classes, in which one of every four members of each entering class is of a URM background. In 2019, Churchwell was appointed Interim Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at Vanderbilt University, in addition to his roles at VUMC. Churchwell’s interim appointment became a full-time, permanent appointment in March 2020. He works with all campus partners—senior leadership, students, faculty, staff, alumni, community, and the Board of Trust—to fulfill our mission of promoting a campus environment that is affirming, welcoming, equitable, inclusive, and diverse in order to foster a sense of belonging at Vanderbilt and beyond, with the goal of advancing human potential and growth. He is currently working with numerous campus partners to develop an institutional strategic plan, as well as strategic plans within each college, school, and division. Dr. Churchwell wholeheartedly believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion are inseparable from institutional excellence and works tirelessly to ensure that Vanderbilt is a transformative community that respects, values, and supports all people. BOARD MEMBER, 2022-2023 Dr. Garfield A. D. Clunie is a leading expert in women’s health and healthy equity. He currently serves as President of the nation’s oldest and largest organization of African American physicians, the National Medical Association and has dedicated more than 15 years with the organization. He has served on the National Medical Association’s Board in several roles including as Region 1 Chair and Trustee; Chairman of the Board of Trustees; Chair of the Committee on Administrative and Financial Affairs, National Treasurer and has served as a member of numerous councils/committees. Dr. Clunie has built his career on serving vulnerable populations and as an advocate for the elimination of health disparities and seeking health equity for all. Dr. Clunie is double boarded in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Clunie currently works at the Mount Sinai Health System, where he supervises MFM fellows, OB/GYN residents, and medical students at the Outpatient High-Risk Pregnancy Clinic and Ultrasound Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital and is Site Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Mount Sinai Downtown – Union Square. In addition to caring for pregnant women with complex medical conditions, Dr. Clunie’s special interests include prenatal diagnosis of fetal anatomic and genetic abnormalities, and preconception and inter-conception care, diabetes in pregnancy and fetal growth abnormalities. Dr. Clunie has authored several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. In September, Dr. Clunie will be joining the faculty at NYU Langone Health where he will be Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Dr. Garfield Clunie earned his medical degree from Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University. He completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Downtown Hospital and went on to complete a prestigious fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) at Tufts – New England Medical Center. Dr. Clunie has focused his organizational leadership on his beloved National Medical Association but he is active in numerous organizations including the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology where he is a fellow and Secretary/Treasurer of District II, Section 1 (Manhattan) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, where he is a fellow has served on the Legislative Affairs Committee, the Maternal Alcohol Abuse Task Force, and is currently a member of the Global Health Committee. As a medical student he was a leader and served as Co-President of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) at his medical school and as Region 4 Director, which involved coordinating and executing programmatic initiative within 6 states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama) as well as the Caribbean. The SNMA is the nation’s oldest and largest association of minority medical students. He is also a member of the NAACP, the National Action Network, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council’s Jamaica Diaspora Northeast Health Sector and the Jamaica Diaspora Health Taskforce Action Network. Dr. Clunie’s personal story is one of resilience, vision and tenacity; he is a native of Jamaica, born in The Garden Parish of Saint Ann, and currently resides in New York City where he serves on the Board of his condominium. Dr. Clunie remains dedicated to addressing health and wellness nationally and internationally as this is his purpose of his life. BOARD MEMBER, 2020-2023 Dr. Alexus M. Cooper is a graduate of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to matriculating into medical school, she received her bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and Sport Studies from Rutgers University where she graduated with honors. During her undergraduate career, she conducted research in exercise psychophysiology, urban health disparities, and opioid addiction. Outside of the classroom, she also spent time engaging with high school mentees in from New Brunswick High School, participated in Rutgers University's Access Medicine Program(Sponsored by the Office for Diversity and Success in the Sciences), and served as President of her MAPS Chapter. As a medical student, Alexus became a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society, and received the Alfred P. Spivack, MD Scholarship for her achievements in the JeffDESIGN program. She has remained dedicated to contributing towards efforts to enhance diversity and equity in medicine. her engagement with the National Medical Association and its affiliated initiatives resulted in her developing exercise initiative project with Project SUN and attending the NMA’s National Health Colloquium. She also served as the Vice President of SKMC's SNMA Chapter, served on the Region VIII Board of Directors as a Technology Chair, and continues to work with the SNMA as a sub-specialty mentor to the National Executive Board. Prior to residency, Alexus completed a Clinical Research Fellowship in Adult Reconstruction at the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Javad Parvizi within the scope of Periprosthetic Joint Infection. She wishes to further pursue research endeavors which investigate health disparities in Orthopaedic patients. Alexus’ involvement with SKMC’s JeffDESIGN also fostered her interest in graphic design, app development, and device prototyping. Her interactions with engineers, architects, and app developers has opened up her mind toward the “design” part of medicine, and she wishes to further develop these skills as she continues to pursue a career in orthopaedic surgery. As a board member of the Cobb Institute and a current Cobb Scholar, Alexus plans to continue working towards its growth and development. She has been involved with scholar recruitment, strategic planning, and expanding the digital footprint of the organization as she completes her residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem North Carolina.  BETTY NEAL CRUTCHER, PhD., MPH
University of Richmond, Virginia BOARD MEMBER, 2020-2023 Betty Neal Crutcher, P.H.D., M.P.H, is a Cobb Institute Board member serving as co-chair of the Pipeline/Pathways Committee and as a member of the Cobb Scholars Advisory Committees. Dr. Crutcher is mentor-in-residence at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the Unviersity of Richmond, in Richmond, Virginia. A cross-cultural mentoring consultant, she has served six years (2015-2021) as Presidential Spouse at the University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, and ten years (2004-2014) at Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts. Originally from Tuskegee, Alabama, she received her BS in Sociology from Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), her Master’s in Public Health from the University of Michigan, and her Doctorate in Educational Administration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She has also served as the first Director of Community Relations for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Crutcher has also served as a faculty member at the Harvard Medical School Continuing Education Program, presenting workshops on healing health care disparities through education. She is the co-founder of the Seeds of Hope Mentoring Program for high school and college students with founder Dr. Martha Cesena, a Harvard Medical School affiliate. Dr. Crutcher recently presented at the Cobb-sponsored webinar titled, “The Mentorship Mystery: Framework, Theory, and Practices to Maximize Your Relationships with Mentors.” She is a Visiting Scholar at The Bioethics Center at Tuskegee University and former board member/chair of the Scholarship Committee for the Voices for Our Fathers Legacy Foundation, dedicated to honoring the legacy of the 623 Black men victimized from 1932 to 1972 in the US Public Health Service Syphilis Study in Tuskegee/Macon County, Alabama and to ending medical mistreatment and health disparities.  TERONE GREEN, M.P.A
Richmond Ambulance Authority
BOARD TREASURER, 2020-2023 Terone Green grew up in Richmond, Virginia where he was educated in its public schools and graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology (1979-1983) having been awarded a full academic and scholarship through the National Institutes of Health’s ( MARC)-Minority Access to Research Careers Program. He received his Master of Public Administration from Southeastern University (1986). He was later accepted into the inaugural class of the Sorenson Institute at the University of Virginia (1990-1991). Terone has held several distinguished professional positions throughout his career beginning at the National Institutes of Health. Mr. Green was a Microbiologist at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease (NIAMS), a Program Analyst at the Office for the Protection from Research Risks, National Institutes of Health, and a Graduate Intern at the Division of Legislative Analysis, Legislative Information and Resources Branch, Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health. When Terone left the National Institutes of Health, he returned to Richmond Virginia to become the Administrator of Health Care Associates, Inc., the largest African American group medical practice in Internal and Critical Care Medicine in the city. Terone then joined Virginia Premier Health Plan Inc., as Vice President for Business Development/Community Relations. Terone then accepted a position with Dr. Louis Sullivan, former President of Morehouse Medical School and former Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services as the National Director for State Alliance Development at the Sullivan Alliance to Transform the Health Professions. It was during that period when Terone assisted Hampton University by assuming the role of Research Associate when the university received a grant totaling $1.5 million dollars from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities/ACF/HHS. Terone also served as the Chief Health Care Consultant (Community Health Alliance Inc.) for the city of Petersburg VA. Terone currently serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority. Terone is married to Michelle C. Green and they are the proud parents of two daughters, Courtney Elizabeth, a graduate of Yale University and the University of Oxford, and Camryn Christina, a graduate of the University of Virginia.
BOARD MEMBER, 2021-2024 Dr. Lynne Holden was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She attended Howard University and Temple University School of Medicine. She served as a chief resident and graduated from the Jacobi-Montefiore Residency Program in 1995. In 2018, Dr. Lynne Holden became a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (the 5th Black female in the country). Her career is dedicated to patient care, teaching, educational research and diversifying the biomedical workforce. In 2007, she co-founded Mentoring in Medicine, Inc. which is a science and health youth development nonprofit that inspires, educates and empowers low income students from elementary school through medical career to pursue a biomedical career. In July 2020, she helped co-launch the Social Emergency Medicine Program for the Jacobi-Montefiore Emergency Medicine residency. Dr. Holden was elected Chair of the Emergency Medicine Section of the National Medical Association where she oversees academic enrichment, assists with faculty promotion and leads a mentoring program for six hundred EM physicians. Additionally, she was named Chair of the K-Grad Action Group of the Roundtable on Black Men and Women at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. Dr. Holden has been the recipient of twenty national and local awards and fifty-four press features for her work in helping to build the next generation of diverse biomedical professionals.
BOARD MEMBER, 2022-2025 Dr. Rodney Hood is an honor graduate from Northeastern University School of Pharmacy in Boston earning a BS degree in Pharmacy then enrolled at the UCSF Graduate School of Pharmacology and Toxicology for a year before transferring to the University of California San Diego School of Medicine where he received his MD degree. He then completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at UCSD University Hospital becoming a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians (FACP). Dr. Hood is currently the managing partner and practicing internist in Careview Medical Group in San Diego and expanded his knowledge of the health system by founding and becoming president of an Independent Physician Association (IPA), the Multicultural Medical Group consisting of over 150 primary care physicians and 200 specialists managing health plan and provider contracts. The IPA managed health services to over 25,000 enrollees mostly from underserved communities. In 2012 Dr. Hood spearheaded a CMMI Healthcare Innovation Challenge Award that implemented a community-based social-clinical intervention strategy utilizing the “hot spotting” model referred to as the Patient Health Improvement Initiative (PHII) that focused on high utilizers of emergency rooms and hospitals and demonstrated cost savings of $15 million over 3 years. Dr. Hood has been an active member in organized medicine including the CMA, AMA, AMA-MAC, and American College of Physicians being honored as a Fellow (FACP). However, his passion for medicine has been expressed through his decades long membership in the NMA serving as president of the local San Diego NMA affiliate, Golden State Medical Association president, then served as chairman of the NMA board before being elected as the 101st President of the NMA. He has received many prestigious awards including being honored by UCSD Alumni Award for Excellence as the Outstanding Alumni for Professional Achievement in 2003, the CMA Foundation Adarsh S. Mahal, MD, Access to Health Care and Disparities Award, and the AMA Foundation Pride in the Profession Award. Over the past 30 years Dr. Hood has researched and lectured extensively on the historic aspects of race, ethnicity, genetics, and racism in medicine and the impact on today’s health inequities. He currently serves on several foundation boards that are focused on solutions to eliminate health inequities. He is the president of the Multicultural Health Foundation in San Diego, serves on the board of the Alliance Healthcare Foundation which is a philanthropic foundation financially supporting non-profit organizations serving underserved communities in Imperial and San Diego Counties, and chair of the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute.
BOARD MEMBER, 2020-2023 Dr. Lonnie Joe is a Pulmonologist at Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan. In addition to a busy practice, Dr. Joe serves in the following capacities: board member, State Medical Society; board member, University of Michigan Medical Alumni Association, board member, National Medical Association; member, Novo Nordis Advisory Board; member, Southfield Institutional Review Board; board member, American College of Physician Executives; board member, Greater Detroit Health Council; and board member, Health Care Coalition. As evidence of his commitment, to date, Dr. Joe has been the longest-serving president of the Detroit Medical Society. In 2008, Dr. Joe was elected the Physician of the Year by the National Medical Association in Washington D.C., and in 2009 he was elected secretary of the House of Delegates of the NMA. His career has been devoted to patient care and the concerns of the physician community. Dr. Joe is a product of the Detroit public school system and a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Providence Hospital and a fellowship in pulmonary diseases and furthered his career by completing the John Hopkins Business of Medicine Program.  KEVIN MCDONALD, J.D., ED.D
University of Virginia
BOARD MEMBER, 2021-2024 Kevin McDonald is the University of Virginia’s vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion, and community partnerships. He joined UVA after serving as the chief diversity officer and vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity, and equity at the University of Missouri System and the University of Missouri – Columbia Prior to the University of Missouri System and Flagship campus, McDonald held positions at several other universities, including as vice president and associate provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Rochester Institute of Technology, Vice President for equity and inclusion at Virginia Tech, as associate director for compliance and conflict resolution at Johns Hopkins University, and as campus compliance officer at the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to his work in higher education, McDonald worked for the U.S. Department of Justice and for Network Solutions, Inc. McDonald holds a law degree from The Ohio State University and a doctoral degree in higher education leadership from the University of Rochester. He received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
EDITH MITCHELL, M.D., FACP, FCPP BOARD VICE CHAIR, 2020-2023 Edith Peterson Mitchell, MD, MACP, FCPP, FRCP (London), is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology and is Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine and Medical Oncology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and Associate Director for Diversity Programs and Director of the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities for the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Mitchell has spent her medical career helping individuals in medically underserved areas to realize that simple changes in lifestyle can have a dramatic impact on cancer care. Through her work, Dr. Mitchell has demonstrated the importance of community service and outreach especially to those individuals who may not have the means to seek out more conventional medical advice. Dr. Mitchell received a bachelor of science in Biochemistry “with distinction” from Tennessee State University and her medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. In 1973, while attending medical school, Dr. Mitchell entered the Air Force and received a commission through the Health Professions Scholarship Program. She entered active duty after completion of her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Meharry Medical College and a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Georgetown University. Dr. Mitchell’s research in breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers and other GI malignancies involves new drug evaluation and chemotherapy, development of new therapeutic regimens, chemoradiation strategies for combined modality therapy, patient selection criteria and supportive care for patients with gastrointestinal cancer. She travels nationally and internationally teaching and lecturing on the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. Dr. Mitchell has authored and co-authored more than 150 articles and book chapters as well as many abstracts on cancer treatment, prevention, and cancer control. As a distinguished researcher, she has received many Cancer Research and Principal Investigator Awards including a recent Promise Grant from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. She serves on the National Cancer Institute Review Panel and the Cancer Investigations Review Committee, the Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory Committee, serves as Co-Chair of the NCI Disparities Committee, and is a member of the NIH Council of Councils. Because of her experience in the cancer research community Dr. Mitchell was selected to serve as a member of the NCI’s Blue Ribbon Panel convened to advise the National Cancer Advisory Board on Vice President Biden’s National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. In 2019, Dr. Mitchell began service as a member of the President’s Cancer Panel and in 2020 she became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. Dr. Mitchell holds leadership positions in the American Society of Clinical Oncology and was the 116th President of the National Medical Association, serving from August 2015 to August 2016. She also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the National Medical Association, and is a Board member of the Museum of the American Revolution, and the former Board of Trustees for Geisinger Commonwealth Medical College and Tennessee State University. Among her many honors, Dr. Mitchell has received the ‘Tree of Life’ Award which recognizes health professionals who have made extraordinary contributions to health management in both the local and global community. Dr. Mitchell was awarded the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Control Award for her significant commitment to research, education, and diversity and the Research Award by the Council of Women Physicians of The National Medical Association. In 2010 she received the National Cancer Care Physician of the Year Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution of time and talent. Other awards for Dr. Mitchell include the 2009 Looking Glass Award presented by the Living with Cancer Foundation and the Women in Medicine Research Award from the National Medical Association. She received the 2011 Practitioner of the Year Award by the Philadelphia County Medical Society and the 2012 Humanitarian Practitioner of the Year Award by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. In 2013 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., was inducted into the National Historical Black College Hall of Fame and also received the Octavius Valentine Catto Award for community service in the City of Philadelphia from the Mann Center. In 2015 she received the Medical Tree of Life Award from Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer. In 2016, Dr. Mitchell was selected as the Historically Black College Alumnus of the Year. In 2017, Dr. Mitchell was inducted as an Honorary Member of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. In 2018, she received the Edith P. Wright Breast Cancer Foundation Eydie’s Angels Loving Hands Service Award and the Jefferson Health Achievement Award in Medicine and in 2019 the Ultimate Solution Award from Philadelphia Life Sciences, the Distinguished Citizen Award from Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and was honored by the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine with their Well-Being Award. In 2020 she was an honoree for the United Negro College Fund’s Mayor’s Masked Ball. Most recently, she was selected as the 2021 Tennessee State University Black History Month Alumni Honoree and the recipient of the AACR-Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship Award. In addition to her medical achievements, Dr. Mitchell is a retired United States Air Force Brigadier General, the first woman physician ever promoted to this rank. Having served as the Air National Guard Assistant to the Command Surgeon for US Transportation command and headquarters Air Mobility Command (AMC) based at the Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. General Mitchell has been awarded over 15 military service medals and ribbons including the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Achievement and Commendation Medals, National Defense Service Medal, and Humanitarian Service Medal. Dr. Mitchell was selected for inclusion in America’s Top Oncologists. Dr. Mitchell is a Master of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and member of the American Medical Association, the National Medical Association, Aerospace Medical Association, Association of Military Surgeons, the Medical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania, the ECOG/ACRIN Cancer Research Group, and the NRG Cancer Research Group. On a personal note, Dr. Mitchell enjoys gardening, quilting, listening to jazz and rock music, and spending time with her family. She and husband Delmar (deceased) were married for fifty-two years and have two daughters, Dale and DeAnna, two granddaughters, Gabriella and Lilly, and two grandsons, Jude and Luke.  ROGER MITCHELL, M.D.
Speaker, House of Delegates, National Medical Association
Prior to his time at the NJ Office of the State Medical Examiner, Mitchell served as the Assistant Deputy Chief Medical Examiner of Harris County, TX (Houston) and oversaw all medicolegal death investigations. He managed the 24/7 death investigation operations of nearly 11,000 cases per year for 3 years. Dr. Mitchell has been published in 13 peer review journals, provided nearly 100 lectures on a myriad of forensic topics, has written two book chapters and serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of the Center for Policy Analysis & Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. His recent academic research on gunshot wounds is highlighted in the Journal of Acute Care Surgery and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Mitchell also serves as Chair of the Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention for the National Medical Association. He co-authored the paper entitled The Violence Epidemic in the African American Community: A Call by the National Medical Association for Comprehensive Reform. He recently led a national group of forensic pathologists in the paper entitled: National Association of Medical Examiners Position Paper: Recommendations for the Definition, Investigation, Postmortem Examination, and Reporting of Deaths in Custody. His expertise on Death in Custody has recently been highlighted nationally on “Dateline with Lester Holt” and “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd.” Dr. Mitchell is the current Speaker to the House of Delegates for the National Medical Association and sits on several additional Boards, including Mentoring in Medicine and the Hip Hop Caucus. He has lectured all over the world including in Africa and Asia, including Egypt, Bangladesh, India, and Belize. Dr. Mitchell currently works with the CDC Foundation supporting the Medicolegal Death Investigation International Community of Practice where he provides technical support to numerous international medical examiners and coroners. BOARD MEMBER, 2022-2023 After completing her undergraduate degree at Baylor University, Veronica matriculated into Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia. As she completes her third year of training, she is committed to entering the medical field as an Obstetrician/Gynecologist. Veronica currently serves as the National President-Elect of the Student National Medical Association and looks forward to leading the organization as its 60th National President following the 2023 Annual Medical Education Conference in Hartford, Connecticut. In her free time, Veronica enjoys reading and curating her home with art.
BOARD MEMBER, 2021-2024 Dr. Elizabeth Ofili is a Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. In this role, Dr. Ofili directs major NIH research awards, totaling over $150 million, supporting discovery science and training across the translational research spectrum from bench to bedside and community, including the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the RCMI Translational Research Network. She is Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of AccuHealth Technologies, with patented technologies that are “Democratizing Discovery Science and Health with N=Me”. As Multi-PI of the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI), a citywide collaborative at Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, along with partnering health systems and statewide research organizations, Dr. Ofili leads innovative collaborations to advance health equity. Since 2007, ACTSI has engaged over 673 investigators and 134 postdoctoral and pre-doctoral trainees in discovery science, training and community engagement. Dr. Ofili is the principal investigator of the NIH funded national collaborative for translational research, the RCMI Translational Research Network (RTRN). RTRN includes 18 historically Black, Hispanic, and Minority Serving Institutions across the continental United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, competitively funded by NIH to lead research innovations that impact health disparities, and playing a major role in diversifying the biomedical research workforce. As multi PI of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) and Director of the Research Resources and Outreach Core, Dr. Ofili engages NIH funded research consortia and academic institutions, to recruit and retain diverse scholars and mentor teams for participation in NRMN. Dr. Ofili is a recipient of over 50 scientific, services and health policy awards, including induction in the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Ofili graduated with distinction from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, completed internal medicine residency at Oral Roberts University, Tulsa Oklahoma, cardiology fellowship at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, and Advanced Echocardiography research fellowship at St Louis University, St Louis, Missouri. She completed the Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. BOARD MEMBER, 2022-2025 Dr. Sneed is a tenured Professor and the founding Dean of the University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy. He also serves as Senior Associate Vice-President for USF Health. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with a concentration in Microbiology from the University of Central Florida. Dr. Sneed received his Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy, where he received numerous clinical and leadership awards. He completed an Ambulatory Care/ Primary Care Pharmacy Practice Specialty Residency at Bay Pines Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. Dr. Sneed remains clinically active as a primary care clinical pharmacist focused on metabolic syndrome disorders. His interprofessional clinical activities occur in the USF Health Department of Family Medicine. He is also a member of the USF Athletics Sports Medicine team. He has earned the distinction of Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, and Fellow of the National Pharmaceutical Association. Dr. Sneed’s clinical and research interests include the advanced pharmacological treatment of patients with Cardio- Metabolic Disorders, examining Health Care Disparities, and Emerging Health Technologies. He is a national lecturer on these topics. Recent research interests include the application of mobile health technologies, digital health applications, cardio-metabolic disorders, and applied clinical pharmacogenomics. Dr. Sneed created USF Health Pharmacy Plus, which he touts as “The Pharmacy of the Future!” Dr. Sneed was a Co-Investigator/ Co-Director in a IH-funded Center of Excellence known as the Center for Equal Health (CEH), a partnership between USF Health and the Moffitt Cancer Center. He remains active in numerous community healthcare-focused activities. Dr. Sneed directs an innovative community initiative known as WE-CARE (Workgroup Enhancing Community Advocacy and Research Engagement) to improve underserved communities’ participation in clinical research. WE-CARE focused its activities on providing over 140 Covid-19 virus, therapeutics, and vaccine educational sessions to people from diverse communities. He also directed a program known as IN-SHAPE (Inter-professional Student Health Assessment Project and Evaluation), which addressed cardiovascular disparities in Tampa, FL. Dr. Sneed has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, abstracts, and poster presentations. He has participated in many federal, state, and industry grant projects, and as a Co-Principal Investigator in multiple medication clinical trials. Dr. Sneed serves on the American Heart Association Tampa Metro Board, Board of Directors (2017-present; President 2017-2019), American Heart Association Tampa Metro Board, Health Equity (Chair), Association of Black Cardiologists, Board of Directors (2017-present, Secretary 2020-present); American Heart Association - Council of Clinical Cardiology (Chair); Area Health Education Center- USF (Gulfcoast North), Board of Directors (2007-present); is a past Chairman of the Health Equity Committee for the American Heart Association- Greater Southeast Affiliate- (Board of Directors) He participates in many community endeavors on an annual basis. Dr. Sneed is very active in national and state organizations, among which include AHA, ABC, NPHA, Cobb Institute, Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, Foundation for a Health St. Petersburg, AACP, FPA, FSHP, ASHP, Sigma Pi Phi, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. BOARD MEMBER, 2021-2024 Mr. Dwight Tillery grew up in Cincinnati where he was educated in its public schools and graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He received his Juris Doctor of Laws from the University of Michigan Law School. Mr. Tillery has held a number of distinguished professional positions throughout his career. Mr. Tillery served as assistant city solicitor for the City of Cincinnati, Assistant Executive Vice President and Associate Legal Counsel at the University of Cincinnati and adjunct Assistant Professor Law and adjunct Assistant Professor African American Studies, Assistant Attorney General, and Cincinnati Mayor and Councilmember and Assistant Professor at Miami University of Oxford, Ohio. Mr. Tillery is a licensed attorney in the state of Ohio and is also licensed to practice before the Federal District court, the Six Circuit Appellate Court, and the United States Supreme Court. In 1991, Mr. Tillery stunned the City of Cincinnati by becoming the first African American popularly elected Mayor of Cincinnati. He was featured in Ebony magazine as a result of his election. As Mayor, he created the Mayor’s Commission on Children, Reshaping Youth Priorities (anti violence initiative targeting youth) the first of its kind by the Health Department; Attorney was a frequently speaker at public schools, played a key role in establishing venture capital fund of eleven million for African American businesses (this fund allowed the start of Blue-Chip Broadcasting Company), and assisted in establishing a mentoring program for minority businesses. It was Mayor Tillery who made possible for the first-time appointments of minorities to the Gas & Electric Co. and Cincinnati Bell boards. In two thousand and four, Mr. Dwight Tillery founded the Center for Closing the Health Gap in Greater Cincinnati whose mission is “to lead the efforts in eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities in Greater Cincinnati through Advocacy, Education, and Community Outreach.” Dr. King recognized the discrimination in health and stated: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane.” Dwight has led the fight for the last fifteen years against racial and ethnic discrimination in health in the greater Cincinnati area. He has received many national and local awards for his courage and vision in regards to this matter. He was featured in USA today for his work and its relationship to the Civil Rights struggle in America. MALLORY WILLIAMS, MD, MPH BOARD SECRETARY, 2021-2024 Dr. Williams is a proud cum laude graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA in 1993, where he served as a Presidential Scholar, NIH MARC Scholar, and Ford Foundation Scholar. He received his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD in 1999. He completed his general surgery residency as the Chief Administrative Surgery Resident at Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center in 2006. He also served as a NIH Research Fellow from 2003 to 2005. He completed his surgical critical care fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Williams is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery. In 2008 The Honorable Governor Bobby Jindal appointed Dr. Williams to serve the state of Louisiana as a board member on the Louisiana Emergency Response Network (LERN). As a LERN board member Dr. Williams played an active role in the strategic planning for the Louisiana trauma system. Dr. Williams is committed to mentoring a diverse physician work force and serves as the Vice Chair of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. Dr. Williams is also a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserve Medical Corps and served with distinction during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a trauma surgeon with the 345th Combat Support Hospital. Dr. Williams was recruited to the University of Toledo Medical Center to lead the Division of Trauma, Critical Care, and Acute Care Surgery. He is currently President-elect of the Toledo Surgical Society. He also serves as the current President of the Reede Scholars, Incorporated, a nonprofit organization of alumni from the Mongan Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy who are committed to health care policy that produces quality, equity, and access for disadvantage populations. RICHARD ALLEN WILLIAMS M.D. BOARD MEMBER, 2020-2023 Dr. Richard Allen Williams founded the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) in 1974 and served as its president for 10 years. He also became the first chairman of the Board of Directors and started the ABC Newsletter. The ABC established the endowed Dr. Richard Allen Williams Scholarship for Black Medical Students In addition, he is a Past President of the National Medical Association. Recently, he served as President of the Charles R. Drew Medical Society in Los Angeles, and was previously a member of the Board of Directors of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Early in his medical career, while an instructor of Cardiology at Harvard Medical School, he founded and directed the Central Recruitment Council of Boston Hospitals, which recruited significant numbers of Black medical trainees to Boston hospitals for the first time in their history. He then served for three years as the inaugural Assistant Medical Director at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital in Watts, California, and was charged with the responsibility of opening the hospital. During this time he and Dr. David Satcher collaborated on writing the grant proposal which was awarded $2.5 million by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the King-Drew Sickle Cell Center, of which he became the Director. Following this appointment, he took a position as Chief of the Heart Station and Coronary Care Unit at the West Los Angeles VA Hospital, eventually becoming head of Cardiology at that institution as well as the first Black full Professor in the history of the Department of Medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Williams has numerous publications and awards to his credit and is the author of The Textbook of Black-related Diseases published by McGraw-Hill in 1975. Other recent books are The Athlete and Heart Disease: Diagnosis, Evaluation and Management, and Humane Medicine:A New Paradigm in Medical Education and Health Care Delivery. Dr. Richard Allen Williams was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, the youngest of eight children. Upon graduating from Howard High School at the top of his class with a 4.0 grade-point average, he was awarded a full scholarship to Harvard University from which he graduated with honors as the first African American student at Harvard from Delaware. He received the M.D. degree from the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, performed his internship at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, Internal Medicine residency at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, and Cardiology fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. PAST BOARD CHAIRS
Rahn K. Bailey, M.D.
LSU School of Medicine
CHAIR, 2017-2019 Dr. Rodney Hood is an honor graduate from Northeastern University School of Pharmacy in Boston earning a BS degree in Pharmacy then enrolled at the UCSF Graduate School of Pharmacology and Toxicology for a year before transferring to the University of California San Diego School of Medicine where he received his MD degree. He then completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at UCSD University Hospital becoming a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians (FACP). Dr. Hood is currently the managing partner and practicing internist in Careview Medical Group in San Diego and expanded his knowledge of the health system by founding and becoming president of an Independent Physician Association (IPA), the Multicultural Medical Group consisting of over 150 primary care physicians and 200 specialists managing health plan and provider contracts. The IPA managed health services to over 25,000 enrollees mostly from underserved communities. In 2012 Dr. Hood spearheaded a CMMI Healthcare Innovation Challenge Award that implemented a community-based social-clinical intervention strategy utilizing the “hot spotting” model referred to as the Patient Health Improvement Initiative (PHII) that focused on high utilizers of emergency rooms and hospitals and demonstrated cost savings of $15 million over 3 years. Dr. Hood has been an active member in organized medicine including the CMA, AMA, AMA-MAC, and American College of Physicians being honored as a Fellow (FACP). However, his passion for medicine has been expressed through his decades long membership in the NMA serving as president of the local San Diego NMA affiliate, Golden State Medical Association president, then served as chairman of the NMA board before being elected as the 101st President of the NMA. He has received many prestigious awards including being honored by UCSD Alumni Award for Excellence as the Outstanding Alumni for Professional Achievement in 2003, the CMA Foundation Adarsh S. Mahal, MD, Access to Health Care and Disparities Award, and the AMA Foundation Pride in the Profession Award. Over the past 30 years Dr. Hood has researched and lectured extensively on the historic aspects of race, ethnicity, genetics, and racism in medicine and the impact on today’s health inequities. He currently serves on several foundation boards that are focused on solutions to eliminate health inequities. He is the president of the Multicultural Health Foundation in San Diego, serves on the board of the Alliance Healthcare Foundation which is a philanthropic foundation financially supporting non-profit organizations serving underserved communities in Imperial and San Diego Counties, and chair of the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute.
FOUNDING CHAIR, 2004-2017 Dr. Cato T. Laurencin is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Laurencin is a University Professor — the 8th to be designated in UCONN’s over 130 year history. Dr. Laurencin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and an elected member of the American Surgical Association membership. A practicing shoulder and knee surgeon, he has been elected to America’s Top Doctors continuously for the past 11 years. He is the winner of the Nicolas Andry Award, the highest honor of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons. He was named one of the 100 Engineers of the Modern Era by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Materials Research Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He has been awarded the Percy Julian Medal by the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChe). Dr. Laurencin is a member of the editorial boards of 25 journals, and Editor-in-Chief of Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine. Dr. Laurencin’s research expertise is in Biomaterials, Nanotechnology, Drug Delivery, Stem Cell Science and a new field he has pioneered, Regenerative Engineering. He has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the past 25 years. The recipient of two Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Awards from NSF, he received the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award for his transformative work in Regenerative Engineering. Dr. Laurencin works in the areas of social justice and mentoring. He is the Founding Editor of The Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, published by Springer/Nature. In mentoring, Dr. Laurencin has been responsible for guiding generations of students in medicine, science and engineering. He has been awarded the Alvin Crawford Award for Mentoring, the Beckman Mentoring Award, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mentor Award. Dr. Laurencin has been honored by the White House on three occasions. He received the Presidential Faculty Fellow Award from President Bill Clinton for his work bridging engineering and medicine. He received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring from President Barack Obama. More recently, he received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in ceremonies at the White House. Dr. Laurencin has two awards named in his honor: The Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. Travel Fellowship Award given by the Society for Biomaterials, and The Cato T. Laurencin Lifetime Research Achievement Award given by the W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association Health Institute and the NMA. Dr. Laurencin is an elected member of both the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Engineering. Internationally, he is an elected Fellow (Associate) of the African Academy of Sciences, an elected Fellow (Foreign) of the India National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences. Dr. Laurencin is an Academician and Member (Foreign) of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Dr. Laurencin earned his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was named a Hugh Hampton Young Fellow. Dr. Laurencin earned his M.D., Magna Cum Laude, from the Harvard Medical School. |
Announcements
NEWS ALERTS
The 6-3 Supreme Court decision to overturn Grutter v. Bollinger both selectively dismantles Affirmative Action programs in higher education and conceptually threatens the continued existence of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and therefore this ruling seeks to redefine our nation. Read Our Full Statement of Response from June 30, 2023. Read the Decision on SFFA v Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
Article released on the 2023 Medical Student Scholars for Health Equity in Myeloma program, a collaboration between the International Myeloma Foundation and the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute. Learn more here.
PAST EVENTS
Register to attend the 2023 National Medical Association (NMA) Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly in New Orleans where we host our 2023 Annual Program.
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COLLABORATOR HIGHLIGHTS
Please check out the Movement is Life Caucus Health Disparities Podcasts.
Partnering with J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society
on the Stand United Campaign to end racial and ethnic
disparities in health and healthcare.
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