Women of Color STEM award winner, Patricia Bath was the first Black person to complete a residency in ophthalmology in 1973. She then became the first woman faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute.
Dr. Bath was born in New York City in 1942. Her parents were Rupert Bath, the first Black motorman for the New York City subway system, and Gladys Bath, a stay-at-home mom.
At age 16, Dr. Bath attended a cancer research workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Her love for science only grew and her parents were supportive of her future goals.
School came easy to Dr. Bath. She completed her high school education in only two years and then attended Hunter College in New York City. She completed her bachelor’s degree in 1964 and continued her studies at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She graduated with honors in 1968 and began an internship at Harlem Hospital shortly after. She then began pursuing a fellowship in ophthalmology at Columbia University.
During her fellowship, she discovered that Black people are twice as likely to suffer from blindness and eight times more likely to develop glaucoma. Her work led to the development of a community ophthalmology system that would assist lower-income patients.
Dr. Bath used her knowledge to dip her toe in education. She moved to California to work as an assistant professor of surgery at both Charles R. Drew University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
In 1976, Bath co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness and advocated for eye healthcare for all. She went on to invent the Laserphaco Probe, her most well-known invention that is still used today.
