Alumni

Spotlight: Alexa I. Canady, MD (1976 – 1981) — A Woman of Many “Firsts”

Our Spotlight this month honors both our alumna and Women’s History Month

When looking at the career of U of M Neurosurgery Department graduate, Dr. Alexa Canady, you are immediately impressed by what a pioneer she was. When she joined the Department’s residency program, she became the first female African American neurosurgery resident both in Minnesota and the nation. When she graduated in 1981, she became the first female African American neurosurgeon in the U.S.

In 1984, Dr. Canady made history once again by becoming the first African American woman certified as a diplomat of the American Board of Neurological Surgery.  

Refused to give up
A native of Lansing, Dr. Canady decided to pursue neurosurgery when attending medical school at the University of Michigan. According to a story about her on the Biography website, “It was a career path that some advisers discouraged her from pursuing, and she encountered difficulties in obtaining an internship. But Canady refused to give up and was eventually accepted as a surgical intern at Yale-New Haven Hospital [in Connecticut]. She went there after graduating cum laude from medical school in 1975.”

A 2018 American Association of Neurological Surgeons article written by Sharona Ben-Haim, MD, looked at how Dr. Canady shaped her career by serving the underprivileged. “During her training,” Dr. Ben-Haim wrote, “she was instantly attracted to the subspecialty of pediatric neurosurgery, appreciating its collaborative and positive environment as well as its sense of community.”

Developed a pediatric neurosurgery service line
Dr. Canady then completed a pediatric neurosurgical fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and soon after was hired as a faculty member of Detroit’s Henry Ford Hospital. In 1987, at the age of 36, she was named the chief of pediatric neurosurgery at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan and charged with developing a pediatric neurosurgical service line, according to Dr. Ben-Haim.

Over the course of the next 15 years, “Dr. Canady dedicated herself tirelessly to the development of an organized and well-developed pediatric neurosurgical program with the aim of offering the highest level of care to the children of the Detroit community. She is passionate about providing all patients access to excellent care, regardless of their means,” wrote Dr. Ben-Haim.

Award-winning service
The article continues, “She started support groups and was industrious in her advocacy for their needs to the broader community. In 2001, Child magazine ranked the Children’s Hospital of Michigan among the ‘10 Best Children’s Hospitals in America’ and Dr. Canady as the hospital’s most outstanding representative physician.”

According to an NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine article about Dr. Canady, “Her academic career was spent at Wayne State University [in Detroit] where she held the position of professor and vice-chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery. She was well respected and received the Teacher of the Year award from Children's Hospital of Michigan and the Distinguished Service Award from Wayne State University.”

Avid researcher
In addition to her passion for patient care, Dr. Canady conducted research into the management of hydrocephalus (excess cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles of the brain) and dysraphism (conditions present at birth that affect the spine, spinal cord, or nerve roots). She was also an enthusiastic educator and mentor.

During retirement in Florida, Dr. Canady recognized there was no pediatric neurosurgical service in the area, “So, back to service she went and over the course of eight years, she created another successful pediatric neurosurgical service, eventually recruiting other pediatric neurosurgeons to secure its future,” wrote Dr. Ben-Haim.

In recognition of her amazing career, Dr. Canady was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame and received the American Women’s Medical Association’s President’s Award. As Dr. Ben Haim observed, Dr. Canady, “is a true pioneer who has devoted her distinguished career to caring for underprivileged children and breaking barriers that stymie access to healthcare. Her commitment, perseverance and exemplary service to her community are a true inspiration to the field of neurosurgery.”