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Notable and Historical Figures

Since 1860, New York Medical College (NYMC) has trained generations of students to deliver skilled and compassionate medical care. Rooted in this 157-year history is a legacy of inclusion and diversity. NYMC has always championed women and minority students, graduating many notable “firsts,” including the first woman to practice medicine in Canada and the first female African American physician in New York State. Many more NYMC faculty and alumni have made significant and lasting contributions to the field of medical education, the practice of clinical medicine, and the improvement of communities they have served.


Geraldine Burton Branch, M.D. '36     Geraldine Burton Branch, M.D. '1936, (1908-2016)
Distinguished physician, educator and public health professional
     
  Walter Gray Crump, M.D. '1895, (1869-1945)
Established first scholarship for African American medical students in the U.S.
     

 

Phyllis Harrison-Ross, M.D., (1936-2017)
Mental health pioneer
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, emeritus
     
Israel Kleiner   Israel S. Kleiner, Ph.D., (1885-1966)
Dean from 1922-1925
First to demonstrate the effect of extracts from the pancreas causing hypoglycemia which eventually helped lead to the discovery of insulin.
     
  Alonzo Potter Burgess Holley, M.D. '1888, (1865-1943)
First graduate of New York Medical College of African descent
     
  Marcus D. Kogel, M.D. '1927, (1903-1989)
Founding dean of Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1955-1967)
     
 

Myra Adele Logan, M.S., M.D. '1933, (1908-1977)
First woman to perform open heart surgery and was among the earliest Black women to be elected to the American College of Surgeons; first recipient of the Walter Gray Crump Scholarship for Young Women

     
John Stuart Marr,   John Stuart Marr, M.D. '1967, M.P.H.
Particularly noted for his scientific explanation of the Ten Plagues of Egypt
     

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  Edwin Sterling Munson, M.D. '1894, (1870-1958)
Discovered what is now called 'Munson's sign'; a sign characteristic of advanced Keratoconus
     
 

Ira Remsen, M.D. '1865, Ph.D., (1846-1927)
Youngest graduate of the College; co-discoverer of artificial sweetener Saccharin in 1878; one of five founding faculty members of Johns Hopkins University, and eventually second president of Johns Hopkins University (1901-1913)

     
George Watson Roberts  

George Watson Roberts, Ph.B., M.D. '1889, (1866-1931)
Developed surgical procedure for treatment of colon cancer

     
  Lawrence B. Slobody, M.D. '1936, (1910-2001)
First alumnus to serve as president of the College (1972-1978) in Valhalla
     
  Sheila M. Smythe, M.S. (1932-2003)
Public health leader and founding dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice
     
  Emily Howard Jennings Stowe, M.D. '1867, (1831-1903)
First woman to practice medicine in Canada
     
  Susan S. McKinney-Steward, M.D. '1870, (1847-1918)
First African-American woman to earn a medical degree in New York state
     
  Jane C. Wright, M.D. '1945, (1919-2013)
First African-American women to be named associate dean of a medical school


A directory of faculty can be found at nymc.edu/faculty/
Profiles of recent alumni can be found at SOM | SHSP | GSBMS
A list of faculty media experts can be found at nymc.edu/faculty/faculty-media-experts/