These five Black surgeons have made history leading Johns Hopkins Hospital’s trauma service 

by Dollita Okine, Face2FaceAfrica

n a historic first for Johns Hopkins University and the medical field at large, the trauma and acute care surgery service at the Baltimore hospital is currently led by an entirely Black team of five residents and fellows, as reported by ABC News.

This achievement at the prestigious institution is a significant moment for a profession where Black surgeons are markedly underrepresented, making up only 5.6% of surgeons in training, despite Black individuals comprising 13.4% of the U.S. population.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Halsted service (trauma and acute care service) is currently led by Dr. Valentine S. Alia (a second-year resident), Dr. Ivy Mannoh (a third-year resident), Dr. Ifeoluwa “Ife” Shoyombo, M.D., M.P.H., M.S. (a third-year resident), Dr. Lawrence B. Brown, Ph.D., M.P.H. (a seventh-year resident), and Dr. Zachary Obinna Enumah, Ph.D., M.A. (a ninth-year and critical care fellow). Notably, Dr. Mannoh is the only woman among the five surgeons.