Historically black colleges and universities or HBCUs were born out of America’s history of systemic racism and segregation with the the law of separate but equal instituted at the turn of the 20th century. These institutions  have played integral roles in the development and support of black professionals including physicians. Because HBCUs have and continue to produce more URiM physicians than all majority institutions combined, they can potentially play a pivotal role in addressing the pipeline shortage of underrepresented ophthalmologists entering our field. To take a closer look at how we can build bridges for HBCUs into ophthalmology, I spoke with Drs. Janice Law, Jacquelyn O’Banion, and Ninita Brown who have been instrumental in forging relationships between Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt in Nashville TN and between Morehouse School of Medicine and Emory University in Atlanta, GA. From our conversation we'll see how, through these relationships, HBCU medical students at Meharry and Morehouse are gaining the clinical and research experiences so vitally important to those applying for residency in ophthalmology.

Dr. Janice Law

Dr. Ninita Brown

Dr. Jacquelyn O'Banion --> Global Ophthalmology Summit 2024

Meharry Medical College

Morehouse School of Medicine

AAO Young Ophthalmologists