40 Facts About Patricia Bath

Patricia Era Bath was an American ophthalmologist and humanitarian.

Patricia Bath became the first female member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, the first woman to lead a post-graduate training program in ophthalmology, and the first woman elected to the honorary staff of the UCLA Medical Center.

Patricia Bath was the first African-American woman to serve on staff as a surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center.

Patricia Bath was the first African-American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose.

Patricia Bath's father was an immigrant from Trinidad, a newspaper columnist, a merchant seaman and the first black man to work for the New York City Subway as a motorman.

Patricia Bath's father inspired her love for culture and encouraged her to explore different cultures.

Patricia Bath's mother was descended from African slaves and Cherokee Native Americans.

Patricia Bath's mother, encouraging her dreams and love of science, had bought her her first chemistry set.

Patricia Bath had discovered a mathematical equation that could be used to predict cancer cell growth.

Patricia Bath's discoveries were shared at the International Fifth Congress of Nutrition in the fall of 1960.

In 1960, at the age of eighteen years old, Patricia Bath won a "Merit Award" from Mademoiselle magazine for her contribution to the project.

Patricia Bath received her Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Manhattan's Hunter College in 1964.

Patricia Bath then relocated to Washington, DC to attend Howard University College of Medicine.

Patricia Bath co-founded the Student National Medical Association and became its first woman president in 1965.

Patricia Bath graduated with honors from Howard University College of Medicine in 1968.

Patricia Bath was awarded the Edwin Watson Prize for Excellence in Ophthalmology by her mentor, Lois A Young.

Patricia Bath organized and led Howard University medical students in providing volunteer healthcare services to the Poor People's Campaign in Resurrection City in the summer of 1968.

Patricia Bath returned to her Harlem community and interned at Harlem Hospital Center, which had just become affiliated with Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Patricia Bath began collecting data on blindness and visual impairment at Harlem Hospital, which did not have any ophthalmologists on staff.

Patricia Bath was proud to be on the Columbia team that performed the first eye surgery at Harlem Hospital in November 1969.

Patricia Bath served her residency in ophthalmology at New York University, from 1970 to 1973, the first African American to do so.

Patricia Bath gave birth to her daughter, Eraka, in 1972.

Patricia Bath then began her career in Los Angeles, becoming the first woman ophthalmologist on the faculty at Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA.

Patricia Bath was appointed assistant chief of the King-Drew-UCLA Ophthalmology Residency Program in 1974 and was appointed chief in 1983.

At both institutions, Patricia Bath rose to the rank of associate professor.

In 1983, Patricia Bath was appointed Chair of the KING-DREW-UCLA Ophthalmology Residency Program, becoming the first woman in the US to head an ophthalmology residency program.

In 1986, Patricia Bath elected to take a sabbatical from clinical and administrative responsibilities and concentrate on research.

Patricia Bath resigned her position as chair of ophthalmology and followed her research pursuits as visiting professor at centers of excellence in France, England and Germany.

In 1993, Patricia Bath retired from UCLA, which subsequently elected her the first woman on its honorary staff.

Patricia Bath served as a professor of ophthalmology at Howard University's School of Medicine and as a professor of telemedicine and ophthalmology at St Georges University ophthalmology training program.

Patricia Bath found that African American people had an eight times higher prevalence of glaucoma as a cause of blindness.

Patricia Bath spent her time as director traveling the world performing surgeries, teaching, and lecturing at colleges.

Patricia Bath was recognized for her philanthropic work in the field of ophthalmology by President Barack Obama.

In 1986, Patricia Bath conducted research in the laboratory of Daniele Aron-Rosa, a pioneer researcher in lasers and ophthalmology at Rothschild Eye Institute of Paris, and then at the Laser Medical Center in Berlin, where she was able to begin early studies in laser cataract surgery, including her first experiment with excimer laser photoablation using human eye bank eyes.

Patricia Bath coined the term "laser phaco" for the process, short for laser photoablative cataract surgery, and developed the laser phaco probe, a medical device that improves on the use of lasers to remove cataracts, and "for ablating and removing cataract lenses".

Patricia Bath first had the idea for this type of device in 1981, but did not apply for a patent until several years later.

The device was completed in 1986 after Patricia Bath conducted research on lasers in Berlin and patented in 1988, making her the first African-American woman to receive a patent for a medical purpose.

Patricia Bath continued to improve the device and successfully restored vision to people who had been unable to see for decades.

Dr Patricia Bath had been a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons from 1976 to 1989, a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, as well as a member of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Patricia Bath is the subject of a short play, "The Prize " by Cynthia L Cooper.