Griffin Rodgers, MD – Black Excellence
The light we hold for our community:
Rodgers received his medical degree from Brown University in 1979, and after completing a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology, began conducting research at NIDDK, part of the National Institutes of Health outside the nation’s capital.
In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first-ever medication to treat SCD, hydroxyurea, thanks to Rodgers’ research.
Previously, doctors had little to offer SCD patients — which affects millions of people of African descent — other than blood transfusions. By sparking the production of healthy blood cells, hydroxyurea significantly reduces pain, hospital stays, and other SCD problems. It can even increase life expectancy of patients.
