5. Alexa Canady ( 1950 – Present )
Alexa Irene Canady was the first African American woman to become a neurosurgeon in the US and is also a member of the Michigan Woman’s Hall of Fame.
Canady attended a summer medical program for minority students after her junior year of college and became inspired by science. She applied to medical school not too long after and graduated from Michigan College of Medicine in 1975 with honors.
She is well known for her research to make advances in neurosurgical techniques, and her invention of a programmable antisiphon shunt to treat hydrocephalus – an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the brain.
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In 1993, Canady received the American Medical Women’s Association President’s Award, as well as the Distinguished Service Award in 1994. She also holds two honorary degrees.
