Wethers, Doris L.
1927-2019 · Contribution: 1958-2006
Pediatrics and sickle cell disease; established hospital sickle cell programs and led the national push for universal newborn screening
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Chaired the 1987 NIH consensus panel that recommended routine sickle cell screening for all newborns — implemented in all 50 states by 2006; third Black woman to earn an MD from Yale (1952) and the first Black attending physician at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center.
Life & background
African-American pediatrician born Dec 14, 1927 in Passaic, NJ. Chemistry degree (Queens College, 1948); MD, Yale (1952). Directed pediatrics and sickle cell programs at several New York hospitals. Died Jan 28, 2019.
Sources
- Sickle Cell Disease Association of America; NIH
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