February is Black History Month. The Wilmer Eye Institute would like to recognize African American trailblazers who have not only contributed to the institute, but also to the field of medicine.

• Lois Young-Thomas, M.D., who in 1965 became the first Black woman fellow to train at Wilmer.
• Earl D.R. Kidwell, M.D., who in 1974 became the first Black ophthalmology resident at Wilmer.
• Richard J. Hairston, M.D., who in 1994 became the first Black chief resident at Wilmer.
• In 2013, Fasika Woreta, M.D. became Wilmer’s first Black woman chief resident.
• Sharon Solomon, M.D., who in 2018 became the first Black full professor at the institute.
• Wilmer alumna Tamara Fountain, M.D., who in 2021 became the first Black woman to serve as president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.