Marilyn Gaston
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Marilyn Hughes Gaston (born 31 January 1939) is a physician and researcher. She was the first black woman to direct the
Bureau of Primary Health Care The Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) is a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA helps fund, staff and support a national network of health clinics fo ...
in the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. She is most famous for her work studying
sickle cell disease Sickle cell disease (SCD), also simply called sickle cell, is a group of inherited Hemoglobinopathy, haemoglobin-related blood disorders. The most common type is known as sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia results in an abnormality in the ...
(SCD).


Early life

Marilyn Hughes Gaston was born in 1939 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Gaston first graduated from
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...
in 1960 before she graduated from medical school at the
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine University of Cincinnati Health (UC Health) is the healthcare system of the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. It trains health care professionals and provides research and patient care. The system is affiliated with the University via ...
in 1964 where she then pursued her path in
pediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...
medicine. She was the only woman of six and the only African American in her graduating class. She finished her internship at
Philadelphia General Hospital The Blockley Almshouse, later known as Philadelphia General Hospital, was a charity hospital and poorhouse located in West Philadelphia. It originally opened in 1732/33 in a different part of the city as the Philadelphia Almshouse (not to be co ...
and completed her residency years in pediatric medicine at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center. During Gaston’s childhood years, her family's poor financial status discouraged her efforts to become a doctor. Although, Gaston never let the fact that she was black, poor and a woman, keep her from following her dreams for becoming a doctor.


Family and personal life

While growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, she lived in a three-room apartment in the public housing projects with her younger and older half-brother. Growing up money was very tight and at a frightening level to provide for her whole family. Gaston’s father, Myron Hughes, worked as a waiter while her mother, Dorothy Hughes, a
Medical secretary An audio typist is someone who specialises in typing text from a vocal source which they listen to. The original voice document is usually recorded onto microcassettes by someone dictating into a Dictaphone. The audio typist will have learnt to ...
. Even though her family did not have what a normal family would have, she wanted to ensure people that her childhood was filled with laughter and love. She received little encouragement to follow her dreams of becoming a doctor because it would be a slim chance for her since her family would not be able to financially send and support her through medical school. One of the main reasons that Gaston wanted to become a doctor was because her mother Dorothy Hughes suffered from
Cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...
with no access to health insurance. Her family's poverty inspired Gaston to be committed to public health. Gaston also worked to bring affordable health care to impoverished families and was the first black woman to direct a public health service bureau ( Bureau of Primary Health Care in the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration) of the
Health Resources and Services Administration The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care service ...
(HRSA). Through this program, with only a 5-million-dollar budget, she was able to bring impoverished families the opportunity to have access to medical workers, medical supplies, and the facilities that an average American is guaranteed. The program also granted medical care to elders, pregnant women, and new immigrants. Gaston received many awards in her lifetime, including the
National Medical Association The National Medical Association (NMA) is the largest and oldest organization representing African Americans, African American physicians and their patients in the United States. As a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) national professional and sc ...
(NMA’s) Lifetime Achievement Award, every honor awarded by the Public Health Service, and even has Marilyn Hughes Gaston Day celebrated each year in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
and in
Lincoln Heights, Ohio Lincoln Heights is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,144 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Cincinnati. History Lincoln Heights was founded in the 1920s by property developers as a suburban enclave for ...
.


Work on Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)

While completing her internship at
Philadelphia General Hospital The Blockley Almshouse, later known as Philadelphia General Hospital, was a charity hospital and poorhouse located in West Philadelphia. It originally opened in 1732/33 in a different part of the city as the Philadelphia Almshouse (not to be co ...
she found her interest in studying more about
sickle cell disease Sickle cell disease (SCD), also simply called sickle cell, is a group of inherited Hemoglobinopathy, haemoglobin-related blood disorders. The most common type is known as sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia results in an abnormality in the ...
when a baby was admitted into the emergency room. This child had a severely swollen hand and no detection of trauma. Gaston was told to run a blood test to check for sickle cell disease, and sure enough, the baby was suffering from a sickle cell infection. The thought of running a blood test for sickle cell disease had never occurred to her, so she became committed to learning all she could about this disease by working with the National Institutes for Health. While proceeding with her study she discovered a revolutionary medical procedure in 1986 that would change the lives of infants that suffer from this disease. She found from her study that children need to be screened to see if they have this disease during their infant years, because if the child does test positive then by the time the child reaches four months of age, they need to start prophylactic therapy while taking
penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...
administered orally. By taking penicillin it proves that it can prevent septic infection. This resulted in legislation by Congress for early SCD screenings, so treatment can begin right away.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaston, Marilyn 1939 births 21st-century African-American physicians 21st-century American physicians 20th-century American women scientists American pediatricians American women pediatricians 21st-century American women physicians Living people Miami University alumni University of Cincinnati College of Medicine alumni People from Lincoln Heights, Ohio African-American women physicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American scientists 21st-century African-American women Members of the National Academy of Medicine 20th-century African-American physicians 20th-century American physicians