Judith Ann Pachciarz

Judith Ann Pachciarz (born 1941) is the first deaf woman in America to obtain an M.D. and a Ph.D.[1]

Early life and education

Raised in Danville, Illinois, Pachciarz lost her hearing at the age of two, due to encephalomeningitis, an inflammation of the brain which caused extensive nerve damage.[2] From an early age she hoped to become a doctor. After graduating from high school, she went on to earn a Master of Science degree at the University of Illinois in 1965 and a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology at St. Louis University in 1971. However, her deafness long proved a bar to her medical ambitions. It was not until 1979, at which time she was teaching veterinary science at the University of Kentucky, that she was finally accepted by a medical school, the University of Louisville School of Medicine.[1][3]

Career

Following her graduation in 1983, Pachciarz was chief resident in pathology for five years. She has been a hospital pathologist at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles.[1][3]

References
  1. Libman, Gary (July 2, 1985). "Doctor Who Overcomes Deafness". Los Angeles Times.
  2. Mary Ellen Verheyden-Hilliard (1988). Scientist and Physician, Judith Pachciarz. Equity Inst. ISBN 978-0932469137.
  3. "Judith Ann Pachciarz - Biography". Changing the Face of Medicine. National Library of Medicine.


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