Patricia Bath
By: Abby
Before Patricia Bath invented her life changing Laserphaco Probe, she was just a normal kid interested in science. Patricia Bath was born on November 4, 1942 in Harlem, NY. After graduating high school after just 2 short years, Patricia headed to Hunter College where she earned her bachelor’s degree. She graduated with honors from Hunter College. She also earned a scholarship to Harlem Hospital.
Patricia then attended medical school at Howard University. She went on to complete a fellowship in Ophthalmology at Columbia University. According to (Patricia Bath Biography), “During her studies there she discovered that African Americans are twice as likely to suffer from blindness than other patients, and 8 times more likely to develop glaucoma.” She decided to continue researching this.
Patricia Bath was apart of many associations before becoming an inventor. According to (Patricia Bath Biography), Patricia Bath moved to California in 1974 to pursue a career as an assistant professor of surgery at both Charles R. Drew University and the University of California.She became the first female faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute.” Patricia Bath co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness which established that “eyesight is a basic human right.” Patricia Bath felt strongly about this.
In conclusion, Dr. Bath has contributed a lot to the medical field. She has helped many people earn back their eyesight. She also helped those who were blind for their whole life.Her invention of the Laserphaco Probe has had an impact on many lives of children and adults. Patricia Bath has broken ground for women and African Americans everywhere.
References
(Famous African American Inventors)
(Patricia Bath Biography)