This Black History Month, The Oregon Clinic is proud to celebrate the incredible accomplishments and lasting impact of Black pioneers in American medicine. The contributions and achievements of these women helped shape modern medicine as we know it today.
Dr. Myra Adele Logan shattered multiple barriers throughout her distinguished career. In 1943, she became the first Black woman admitted to the American College of Surgeons, nine years after earning her medical degree from New York Medical College.
She built her practice at Harlem Hospital and in 1951, she became the first Black woman to perform a successful open-heart surgery using pioneering techniques to remove a tumor from inside the patient’s heart. At the time, opening someone’s chest and operating directly on their heart was relatively new and extremely risky.
Beyond her surgical achievements, Logan was part of a research team that developed an effective antibiotic treatment for lymphogranuloma venereum, a sexually transmitted disease that particularly affected marginalized communities. She also invented a device to help detect breast cancer earlier. Logan practiced medicine for over 30 years in Harlem, treating patients who often couldn’t access care elsewhere, while also maintaining a successful private practice. She died in 1977.
Logan’s work made advanced surgical care accessible to communities often underserved by the medical establishment. Her dual focus on clinical excellence and research innovation established a model that continues to inspire generations of Black women surgeons.