She is one of a small number of female physicists in the United States, but Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green is making amazing strides strides in her field. A former Homecoming Queen from Alabama A&M University, she also holds her Masters and PHD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. As an assistant Professor of Physics at Tuskegee University, it appears as if Dr. Green may have her plate full, but she feels it is her duty to speak out due to the amount of exposure blackwomen have in the STEM field. In her interview with AL.com
“Usually if there is an invitation to speak at a forum like that, I accept it because I feel like it’s a responsibility,” she said. “There are so few of us (black women in STEM fields) I don’t feel like I have the luxury to say I’m too busy.”
Amidst her challenging career, Dr. Hadiyah Green developed a patent-pending technology that uses laster activated nanoparticles to treat cancer – and for that she won a $1.1 million grant to further the development of this technology. In her interview, she stated:
“I’m really hoping this can change the way we treat cancer in America. There are so many people who only get a three-month or six-month survival benefit from the drugs they take. Then three or six months later, they’re sent home with no hope, nothing else we can do. Those are the patients I want to try to save, the ones where regular medicine isn’t effective for them.”
Dr. Green is passionate about her research; after the death of both of her parents, she was raised by her aunt and uncle, who later on, were both diagnosed with cancer. She watched her aunt, who refused treatment due to the side effects suffer, and again watched her uncle (3 months later) who opted to receive treatment, deal with the horrible side effects. While taking time out of school to assist her uncle, she witnessed the devastating effects that cancer treatment caused.
Later when she returned to her studies, she earned a BS in Physics with a concentration in fiberoptics, went on to attend University of Alabama on a full scholarship, and developed the idea of using lasers to treat cancer minus the side effects a patient would typically experience with radiation and chemotherapy. In her interview with the Alabama she explained the science behind her idea:
“As a physicist I’ve created a physical treatment that is not specific to the biology of the cancer,” she said. “It’s a platform technology. It’s not cancer type-specific, though it can treat the cancer specifically. That’s a concept my friends who are biologists struggle with.”
In the meantime, Dr. Green still continues to speak to youth groups, conduct interviews and continue her mentorship despite her busy schedule. She believes this is crucial since young girls don’t get to see many women like her, she explains,
“There are black female scientists who don’t get media exposure, because of that, young black girls don’t see those role models as often as they see Beyonce or Nicki Minaj. It’s important to know that our brains are capable of more than fashion and entertainment and music, even though arts are important.”
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