In honor of Black History Month, the Washington D.C.-based Association for Women in Science is celebrating "pioneering scientists whose curiosity, determination, and brilliance helped light the way for other women and girls to follow in their footsteps." Here is one of the Women of Color STEM Award winners we spotted on the list.
Dr. Patricia Bath, a 1997 Women of Color STEM honoree, was a groundbreaking ophthalmologist. She invented one of the most important surgical tools in history. This spring, she will be honored in the Inductee Class of 2022 by the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF), one of the first Black female inventors inducted by NIHF in its nearly 50-year history.
In 1986, Dr. Bath (1942-2019) invented the Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment. She used the Excimer Laser to develop a device and method for minimally invasive cataract surgery. Bath's method employed a faster technique and established the foundation for eye surgeons to use lasers to restore or improve vision for millions of patients suffering from cataracts worldwide.
Dr. Bath's career is full of trailblazing firsts. In 1988, she became the first Black woman to receive a medical patent, the first of eight patents in her career. She was also the first Black person to complete an ophthalmology residency at New York University in 1973, and the first Black American woman appointed to the UCLA Medical Center surgical staff in 1974.
At UCLA, she was the first woman to lead a post-graduate training program in Ophthalmology.
A lifelong humanitarian, she established the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness as part of her passion in championing the eradication of preventable blindness for racially minoritized populations. She coined the term, "Community Ophthalmology" to emphasize that "eyesight is a basic human right" and advocated for public health approaches to address visual inequities so that eyecare would become part of primary medical care.
Dr. Bath will be recognized at two ceremonies at the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum in Alexandria, VA on May 4th, and the 2022 National Inventors Hall of Fame "Induction Ceremony" in Washington, D.C. on May 5th.
