Keith Black (surgeon) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Keith Black
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| Born | September 13, 1957 Tuskegee, Alabama, United States
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| Education | University of Michigan Medical School |
| Known for | Brain tumor surgery and research |
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| Profession | Neurosurgeon |
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Keith L. Black was born on September 13, 1957. He is an American brain surgeon who specializes in treating brain tumors. Dr. Black also works hard to get more money for cancer research and treatment. Today, he leads the neurosurgery department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He is also the director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute there.
Early Life and Education
Keith Black grew up in Tuskegee, Alabama. His mother, Lillian, was a teacher. His father, Robert, was a school principal. At that time, schools in Alabama kept Black and white students separate. Dr. Black's father worked to improve his school. He brought in new teachers and more challenging subjects.
To find better schools, Keith's family moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio. He went to Shaker Heights High School. Keith was already interested in medicine. He joined a special program for minority students at Case Western Reserve University. Later, as a teenager, he worked as a lab assistant. He helped with research on artificial heart valves at St. Luke's Hospital in Cleveland.
When he was 17, Keith won a national science award. His research looked at how red blood cells were damaged in patients with heart valve problems. He then went to the University of Michigan. He completed both his college degree and his medical degree in just six years. He earned his M.D. degree in 1981.
A Career in Brain Surgery
After finishing his medical training at the University of Michigan, Dr. Black moved. In 1987, he joined the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He later became the head of UCLA's Brain Tumor Program. In 1997, he moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. There, he became the director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute.
In 2006, he became the Chair of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai. A year later, in 2007, he became the director of the new Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Brain Tumor Center. This research center was named after a famous lawyer. The lawyer had been Dr. Black's patient and a big supporter of his work.
Dr. Black in the Media
Dr. Black has often been featured in the news. Media reports talk about his medical breakthroughs in brain surgery. In 1996, he was on a PBS show called The New Explorers. The episode was titled "Outsmarting the Brain." Esquire magazine also featured him in 1999. They called him one of the "21 Most Important People of the 21st Century." He has also been asked for his expert opinion. People want to know if using mobile phones affects brain tumors.
Dr. Black is known for his very busy surgery schedule. A 2004 Discover article noted his work. It said he performs about 250 brain surgeries each year. By age 46, he had already done more than 4,000 brain surgeries. This was a huge number for a surgeon. By 2009, he had performed over 5,000 operations. These surgeries were to remove brain tumors.
In 1997, Time magazine put Dr. Black on its cover. It was a special edition called "Heroes of Medicine." The article talked about his reputation. He was known as a surgeon who would operate on tumors that other doctors wouldn't touch. It also mentioned his medical research. He discovered that a substance called bradykinin could help open the blood–brain barrier. This helps medicines reach the brain better.
In 2009, Dr. Black wrote a book about his life. It was called Brain Surgeon. He wrote it with Arnold Mann. The book shares his journey to becoming a neurosurgeon. It also talks about the challenges he faced.
