Hadiyah-Nicole Green facts for kids

Hadiyah-Nicole Green (born in 1981) is an American medical physicist. She is famous for creating a new way to treat cancer. This method uses tiny particles called nanoparticles activated by lasers.

Dr. Green is one of only 66 Black women to earn a Ph.D. in physics in the United States between 1973 and 2012. She was the second Black woman and fourth Black person to get a physics doctorate from The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Early Life and Education

Hadiyah-Nicole Green grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She was raised by her aunt and uncle after becoming an orphan at a young age. She was the first person in her family to go to college.

After high school, Green attended a summer computer science program. This was at Xavier University of Louisiana. She then received a full scholarship to Alabama A&M University. In 2003, she earned her bachelor's degree in physics there. She focused on optics and also studied mathematics.

Green believes that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are very important. She says her time at Xavier and Alabama A&M helped her grow. She learned more about herself and developed her own identity.

She continued her studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She earned her master's degree in physics in 2009. In 2012, she completed her Ph.D. in physics. Her Ph.D. research was about using nanoparticles and lasers to find and treat tumors.

Developing New Cancer Treatments

Soon after graduating from Alabama A&M, Green's aunt, Ora Lee Smith, got sick. Her aunt had female reproductive cancer. She decided not to have chemotherapy or radiation because she feared the side effects. Green took care of her aunt during her last three months.

After her aunt passed away in 2005, her uncle, General Lee Smith, also got cancer. Green saw her uncle suffer from the side effects of his cancer treatments. She felt these treatments were almost as bad as what her aunt went through. These experiences made Green want to find better ways to treat cancer.

An internship at NASA helped Green realize the power of lasers. She thought lasers could be used in cancer research. Her goal was to use her knowledge of lasers to target only cancer cells. She wanted to do this without harming healthy cells nearby.

She developed a method where lasers "light up" nanoparticles. This creates an image of the cancer cells. It also helps target these cells faster.

During her Ph.D. research, Green was part of a team. They found a way to put nanoparticles into cancer cells. They made sure to avoid the healthy cells around them. When a laser shines on the tissue with nanoparticles, it heats up. This heat then destroys the cancer cells.

She first tested her ideas on cancer cells in a dish. Then, she moved on to small animal models, like mice. Her current research aims to use this nanoparticle treatment for humans.

Career and Foundation

After graduate school, Dr. Green became a professor. She taught at Tuskegee University in the Department of Material Science and Engineering. In 2016, she moved to Morehouse School of Medicine. She joined the department of surgery there.

She received a large grant of $1.1 million. This money helps her continue her research on laser cancer treatment.

In 2016, Dr. Green started the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation. She named it after her aunt. The foundation's main goal is to improve cancer treatment. They want treatments to be effective but have very few side effects. The non-profit foundation also works to make cancer treatment easy to get and affordable for everyone.

Dr. Green spends a lot of her free time helping young Black students. She gives talks and mentors them.