Photo: Yale Medicine
Last month, we highlighted a few women pioneers in the field of sickle cell research. Of course, there are many more than the five we listed there -- one of them being Yvette Fay Francis-McBarnette.
One of the most prominent sickle cell researchers of the 20th century, Francis-McBarnette passed on March 28. In her 89 years on this earth, though, she accomplished a lot. She became the second Black woman ever to go to the Yale School of Medicine; she was appointed to Nixon's White House advisory committee, where she helped bring about the 1972 National Sickle Cell Anemia Control Act; and she started the Foundation for Research and Education in Sickle Cell Disease with two colleagues; among other things. "She was breaking ground as a woman -- and especially as a black woman -- at the very beginning of the civil rights movement," reports The New York Times.
We honor her lifelong commitment to improving the lives of sickle cell warriors, and hope her story inspires others to continue this necessary work.
To learn more about Yvette Fay Francis-McBarnette, check out the full New York Times article, here.
