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Black Pioneers in Neuroscience & Neurology
Celebrating African American Excellence in Science
Dr. Lana Ruvolo Grasser aka "Dr. Ruvvy" & Edmund Alyn Jones
February 19, 2025
AFRICAN AMERICAN EXCELLENCE IN NEUROSCIENCE & NEUROLOGY
Happy Black History Month!
This is Edmund Alyn Jones, Director of Communications, Marketing & Outreach for the Ruvvy Resilience Lab.
All of us at the lab are so excited to celebrate diversity here in America and on our team. We literally have people from all over the world working to make progress in neuroscience for youth as Dr. Ruvvy reminds us each day.
Dr. Ruvvy and I need to take this moment to celebrate the contributions of African American minds to the the study of the mind.
but first …
The Pan-African Flag
Hopefully you’ve noticed that our thumbnail for this week’s newsletter has a distinct new look. It is inspired by the flag created by the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) and Marcus Garvey in response to racism against Black individuals in 1920. The colors have tremendous significance. Red is the color of the blood shed for liberty; black for the noble people; and green for vegetation found in the Motherland.
Pan-African Flag Designed by Marcus Garvey
Also known as the Black Liberation Flag, the Pan-African flag is very special to me (Edmund) because we proudly displayed it everywhere on our school grounds during my time at Bates Academy in Detroit.
Every February, we’d “duke it out” by exercising our minds in what we called “Bates Battle” (a month long tournament where classes competed to see who could learn as much African-American History as possible). The games culminated in a big face-off, game show style, at the end of the month for the champion!
So, in the tradition of Bates Battle and expanding our minds, let’s explore a few great minds that helped us learn more about our brains throughout Black History.
Dr. Ruvvy, who are some of your champs in neuroscience & neurology?
Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller (1872-1953)
Recognized as the first African American psychiatrist, Dr Solomon Carter Fuller is responsible for much of our understanding about Alzheimer’s disease (the devastating memory condition). Thanks to Dr. Fuller’s translations of pivotal work on the disease into English and his comprehensive review of the disease he made two major discoveries that helped neurologists see it as a physical condition.
The American Psychiatric Association named their award for Black mental health professionals in his honor. Moreover, the Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller Health Center in Boston bears his name.
Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller in his lab (Courtesy of New York Public Library)
Dr. Audrey S. Penn (b. 1934)
Dr. Penn was the first Black woman to serve as a director of an Institute at the National Institutes of Health—she served as deputy director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and remains an inspiring role model to many women physician-scientists to this day.
She’s an emeritus professor, neurologist and physician!
Dr. Audrey Shields Penn, MD, PhD
If you are interested in science and medicine, then do it. It’s not going to be easy. But there is a lot of exciting research out there to be done, and with many opportunities in all areas of science and medicine. You just have to get out there and learn about it.
Dr. Alexa Canady (b. 1950)
Of course, we cannot forget Michigan’s own Dr. Alexa Canady. Dr. Canady was the first African American woman to become a neurosurgeon, in 1981. She served as chief of neurosurgery at Michigan Children’s Hospital from 1987 through her retirement in 2001. During her career, she saved the lives of thousands of patients, most of whom were under the age of 10, who faced illness, gunshot wounds, head trauma, and other brain injuries or diseases.
Dr. Canady was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame for her contributions to science.
Learn about these Pioneers in Neurology & Neuroscience and more!
Neural Impacts of Stigma, Racism, & Discrimination
In this article, Dr. Ruvvy and her mentor Dr. Tanja Jovanovic discuss how stigma, racism, and discrimination impacts the brain. They also discuss the importance of having diverse voices and participation in scientific research and medicine, with a call to action and recommended readings/trainings for clinicians working with individuals who have experienced stigma, racism, and discrimination. This article was originally published in:
Download below!
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Support Brain Day
Brain Day at the Michigan Science Center is right around the corner.
We are raising funds to send 6th graders from Chandler Park Academy to Brain Day at the Michigan Science Center on March 8th, 2025.
For $23 you can send a student from Chandler Park Academy to go learn all about how their brains work.
Who knows, we might just inspire the next generation of world-class scientists.
Please donate through our “Buy Me a Coffee” page below:
ONE MORE THING!
If you or anyone you know has been affected by the flooding/freezing caused by the main water line bursting, the generous people at Santos Church have opened their doors as warm sanctuary. Free dinner will also be served at 5PM all week long.
