The Connecticut National Medical Association Society (CTNMA) hosted Black Doctors Day for students across the state interested in pursuing medical careers on August 29, 2026.
The goal of the event was to give students the opportunity to meet physicians who look like them, while learning more about career options in a variety of medical fields directly from the professionals currently practicing in those specialties. Representation in medicine remains crucial as according to data from the Association of Medical Colleges, just 5.7 % of doctors in the U.S. are Black, while people who identify as Black make up 14.4% of country’s population, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
“It’s so important to have role models in this field and this was a great way to bring together a number of Black doctors to meet with students and their parents to see doctors who look like them and give them a chance to really relate to physicians and to see themselves go into medicine,” said Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Connecticut, who is the President of CTNMA. “I think that having role models who have done this, who are able to tell someone, ‘I did this and you can too,’ is so important. We want to send the message to young people and their parents that this is possible and encourage them to find role models and mentors to work with over the course of their education.”
Hosted in UConn Health’s Academic Rotunda in Farmington, the event was geared toward middle school and high school students interested in pursuing a career in medicine. Children and their families were treated to lunch at the start of the afternoon event, followed by welcoming remarks by event director Dr. Iyanna Liles, an OB/GYN physician at Comprehensive Gynecology of Connecticut. Liles then led an informative and inspirational fireside chat with Keynote Speaker Dr. Darin Latimore, Deputy Dean for Collaborative Excellence, Yale School of Medicine.
Following the fireside chat, students grouped into interactive, educational breakout sessions led by top Black doctors on a variety of topics, each focused on a different specialty. During the afternoon, students learned more about Primary Care and Family Medicine, Health Informatics, Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Public Health and Advocacy, Optometry, and participated in a hands-on Suture Tying Lab led by presenters Rochelle Collins, MD, Barbara Dune, OD, Desmond Ebanks, MD, Richard Scarlett, MD, Laticia Stewart, MD, MBA, Sachi Desse, MD, Nicole Jackman, MD, PhD, and Lenora S. Williams, MD, FACOG, NCMP.
The CTNMA aims to promote a sense of well-being through various programming, events, and other venues that create camaraderie among its members. As an affiliate of the National Medical Association, it shares the objective of being “a collective voice of African American physicians and the leading force for parity and justice in medicine and the elimination of disparities in health.” After the success of this event and the previous Black Doctors Day 2024, the CTNMA plans to make Black Doctors Day an annual event.
Professor Sir Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., K.C.S.L., is the CEO of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, a cross-campus institute at the University of Connecticut and UConn Health. He is also the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, published by Springer Nature. Laurencin co-founded the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute, a national consortium of scholars that engages in innovative research and knowledge dissemination for the reduction and elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities and racism in medicine. His work in mentoring has been recognized by the White House in receiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math, and Engineering Mentoring from President Obama. At UConn he has created and established the Young Innovative Investigator Program (YIIP), the UConn Research Experience and Mentoring in Regenerative Engineering Program (funded by the National Science Foundation) and A Scientific Program in Regenerative Engineering (ASPIRE), funded by the Department of Education and the M1 Mentoring Program. The programs have a special emphasis on providing opportunities for underrepresented students to enter science and health professions.
A national force for justice, he received the Hoover Medal, given by the principal engineering societies in America, for creating a fairer, more just world, the Herbert W. Nickens Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges for promoting social justice, and the William Montague Cobb National Award from the NAACP, recognizing his leadership in equity.
At the University of Connecticut, Dr. Laurencin serves as University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. He also holds Professorships in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering. He is a core faculty member of the Africana Studies Institute at UConn. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, an Institute created and named in his honor.
Sir Cato Laurencin is the first surgeon in history elected to all four major National Academies. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine, and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He is also an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
