Sonia Eden, MD, has been appointed head of adult neurosurgery at Detroit Medical Center, the first Black woman to hold the role, and second to lead a U.S. hospital neurosurgery program, Commercial Appeal reported April 8.
In 1981, Alexa Canady, MD, became the first Black woman to become a neurosurgeon in the country, and was appointed chief of neurosurgery at Detroit-based Children's Hospital of Michigan in 1987. About 8 percent of neurosurgeons in the U.S. are women, with approximately 33 of those women identifying as Black, according to the report.
Prior to joining Detroit Medical Center, Dr. Eden served as clinical assistant professor at the Western Michigan University School of Medicine and practiced with Ascension Borgess Brain and Spine Institute, both in Kalamazoo, Mich.
She specializes in complex spine surgery, sacroiliac joint surgery, endoscopic and minimally invasive brain surgery, as well as brain and spine tumor surgery.