Overview: John Hopkins University Medical Center has made history with an all-Black team of five residents and fellows leading the hospital’s trauma and acute care surgery teams. This is progress for an institution that has a dark history of medically exploiting and financially benefitting from the medical maltreatment of Black people, such as the case of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were used in research without her consent. The under-representation of Black surgeons currently stands at 5.6% nationally compared to the 13.4% U.S. Black population.
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For the first time in its long history, the prestigious John Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, has an all-Black team of five residents and fellows leading the hospital’s trauma and acute care surgery teams according to a February 15, 2025, report by ABC News.
This is certainly progress for an institution that, though celebrated for its medical successes, just like so many other prestigious institutions in America, it also has a dark history of medically exploiting and financially benefitting from the medical maltreatment and abuse of Black people.
One of the most exploitative medical cases facilitated by Johns Hopkins–that many of you may already be familiar with–involved a young mother named Henrietta Lacks who sought medical care at the facility in 1951, because she was experiencing vaginal bleeding. The doctors determined she had a large cancerous tumor in her cervix.
When a biopsy of Lacks’ tumor was tested by a cancer and virus researcher, he discovered her cells were different from any other he had ever examined. Where other cells died, Lacks cells not only lived, they doubled every 20 to 24 hours.
Called HeLa cells today, (the first two letters of Henrietta Lacks’ first and last names), they are used by researchers all over the world. These HeLa cells are used to determine the impact of certain toxins, drugs, hormones and viruses on cancer cells in lieu of having to experiment on people.
HeLa cells are also used to study the impacts of radiation and various poisons; to explore the human genome, and to understand how viruses work. In addition, according to experts, HeLa cells have played a critical role in the development of vaccines, including polio and more recently, COVID-19 vaccines.
Lacks died of cancer in October, 1951. Despite the continued use of her cells in research, both nationally and internationally, it took a civil lawsuit that finally settled in 2023, for her family to receive compensation for what has become the routine use of her cells in research. A statement released by the family’s attorneys noted the terms of the settlement will “remain confidential”.
It took nearly 50 years for Lacks family to receive compensation for the unprecedented contributions HeLa cells have made to humanity. There is little question Johns Hopkins University Medical Center could have…should have…done more…sooner, in this regard.
The medical exploitation of Blacks in America is historical. Although today, there are laws providing protections to research subjects, systemic discrimination in the medical field continues though most offenses primarily take the form of microaggressions and unconscious acts of racism.
There continues to be a shortage of Black doctors, as more and more Blacks enter the medical field, more and more continue to excel not unlike those at John Hopkins. In addition, a study published by JAMA Network Open, showed that “Black people who live in areas with more Black primary doctors live longer. The study showed that as diversity in the medical field increases it can “help mitigate racial health disparities”.
So when news broke regarding John Hopkins’ history-making, all-Black team of residents and fellows leading the hospital’s trauma and acute care surgery units, it was not only cause to celebrate–it helped bring attention to the under-representation of Blacks as surgeons. Data indicates that currently only 5.6% of those training to be surgeons in America are Black compared to the 13.4% U.S. Black population.
This Black History Month, Black Voice News honors Black doctors and surgeons, particularly those making history at John Hopkins University Medical Center including Valentine S. Alia, M.D. (a second-year resident); Ivy Mannoh, M.D. (a third-year resident); Ifeoluwa “Ife” Shoyombo, M.D., M.P.H., M.S. (a third-year resident); Lawrence B. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. (a seventh-year resident); and Zachary Obinna Enumah, M.D., Ph.D., M.A. (a ninth-year and critical care fellow).
“‘My parents are so proud. I am the first physician in my family,’ Dr. Brown told ABC. To him, medicine isn’t just science, but also service. ‘That’s why it’s important to me. Equity has to remain at the forefront of how we deliver patient care, how we do research, how we scale programs up in our healthcare system.’”
I agree with Dr. Brown, equity must remain at the forefront of how patient care is delivered.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I’m keeping it real.