Kathryn Dorothy Duncan Anderson (born 1939) is a British-American pediatric surgeon. She was the first woman to hold office in the

American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a professional medical association for surgeons and surgical team members, founded in 1913. It claims more than 90,000 members in 144 countries. History The ACS was founded in 1913 as an outgrowth of ...

and the first woman president of the

American Pediatric Surgical Association The American Pediatric Surgical Association is an American professional organization dedicated to pediatric surgery. It was established in 1970 and had over 1,200 members as of 2015. Its official journal is the '' Journal of Pediatric Surgery''. ...

. She was a Nina Starr Braunwald Award laureate.

Early life

Kathryn Anderson was born Kathryn Dorothy Duncan in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England in 1939. With encouragement from her parents, she knew that she wanted to become a surgeon at the age of 8. She began studying at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1958, and went on to earn a bachelor and masters of arts from the university. She met French Anderson, an American, in an anatomy class while at Cambridge University. In 1962 they married and moved to the United States. After moving to the US, Anderson continued studying medicine in 1964 at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

. Upon graduating, the dean denied her a surgical internship, saying women were too weak to be surgeons. She ended up completing an internship in pediatric medicine at

Boston Children's Hospital Boston Children's Hospital (formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2013) is the main pediatric training and research hospital of Harvard Medical School, Harvard University. It is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children ...

. A year later, in 1965, she moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and completed her general surgical residency at

Georgetown University Hospital MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is one of the Washington, D.C. area's oldest academic teaching hospitals. It is a not-for-profit, acute care teaching and research facility located in the Georgetown neighborhood of the Northwest Quadrant ...

. Over the two years she was at Georgetown University Hospital, she was only assigned seven cases. Believing that discrimination against her gender was affecting her training, Anderson left the hospital and began working in various community hospitals. In these hospitals, she worked on 700 cases in the first year. In 1973, she gained American citizenship.

Career

Anderson has had multiple academic appointments over the course of her career. Anderson joined

Children's National Medical Center Children's National Hospital (formerly Children's National Health System, DC Children's Hospital, Children's National Medical Center) is a freestanding, 323-bed, pediatric acute care children's hospital located in Washington, D.C. It is affili ...

for a two-year fellowship in pediatric surgery in 1970. She also became chair of the surgery department at Children's National Medical Center. From 1972 to 1974, she was an assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. She then worked at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

, where she stayed for eighteen years. She started as an assistant professor, became an associate professor in 1978, and a professor in 1983. She worked as an adjunct scientist in the molecular hematology branch of the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute of the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

from 1984 to 1992. In 1985 and 1986, Anderson served as chair of the surgery section of the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the largest professional association of pediatricians in the United States. It is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, and maintains an office in Washington, D.C. The AAP has published hundreds of poli ...

, and in 1986 she began serving on the editorial board of the ''Journal of Pediatric Surgery'', as well as numerous other medical journals. In 1992, Anderson was named surgeon-in-chief and vice president of surgery at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, California. The same year, she became secretary and the first woman officer of the

. From 1999 to 2000, she served as the first woman president of the American Pediatric Surgical Association. One major area of research interest from 1972 to 2004 was esophageal replacement in children and infants. Anderson was featured in Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America's Women Physicians, for which a National Institutes of Health exhibition was open from October 2003 to April 2005. She wrote a book in 2009 entitled Who Will Hold My Hand?: A Guide For Parents Whose Child Needs An Operation, which aims to help parents understand medical conditions and the medical system and is based on Anderson's training, personal experiences, and research. Over the course of her career, Anderson was a practicing pediatric surgeon for 32 years in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, California.

Awards and honors

* 1995, Nina Starr Braunwald Award from the

Association of Women Surgeons The Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) is a non-profit educational and professional organization founded in 1981. Now with more than 4,000 members in more than 50 countries, AWS is one of the largest international organizations dedicated to suppo ...

* 1999, lifetime fellowship in

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...

. * 2005, Honorary Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a not-for-profit medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It was established in 1784 as the national body ...

* 2007, Honorary Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Kathryn Dorothy Duncan 1939 births Living people Alumni of the University of Cambridge American pediatric surgeons British paediatric surgeons Women paediatric surgeons Harvard Medical School alumni People from Ashton-under-Lyne American women surgeons British women surgeons 20th-century British surgeons