Dr. Antonia Novello

Dr. Antonia Novello (1944-Present), former Surgeon General, is an advocate for community health projects around the world.

Born in Puerto Rico, Dr. Novello suffered from a chronic problem with her colon that often kept her in the hospital for weeks or even months at a time. Her father passed away when she was eight years old, leaving her mother, who was a schoolteacher, to take care of Antonia on her own. Even though surgery could possibly have bettered Antonia's colon condition, for financial reasons, she had to wait 10 more years for effective treatment. When she was 18, she finally had the surgery to correct the condition, but complications troubled her until, at 20, she finally received effective treatment at the Mayo Clinic in the United States.

Even though she had such a difficult childhood, Antonia graduated from high school at only 15 and went on to attend the University of Puerto Rico, where she earned her B.S. and, five years later, her M.D. In 1970, she was married to a Navy flight surgeon, Jose Novello. They moved to the United States together to attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. There, Dr. Novello interned in the pediatric unit where she helped children with kidney diseases. After her internship, Dr. Novello did a fellowship at Georgetown University's Department of Pediatrics in Washington D.C., which she followed by 2 years of private practice in Springfield, Virginia.

In 1978, Dr. Novello joined the U.S. Public Health Service's Commissioned Corps, which is a group of doctors and other health professionals who go to poor areas and places where there are few medical personnel. The head of this group is the U.S. Surgeon General. Dr. Novello also earned the position of Deputy Director/Coordinator of AIDS Research for the National Institutes of Health. On several occasions, she served as an advisor to Congress, where she contributed to the 1984 Organ Transplant Procurement Act and pushed for the requirement of putting warning labels on packaging for cigarettes.

In 1990, Dr. Novello was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to be the United States Surgeon General. During her time in this office, she continued to work for women, minorities, and children, giving a great deal of her time to reducing underage drinking and smoking and to raising AIDS awareness.

Since the end of her time as Surgeon General, she has been a part of the United Nations Children's Fund, working as Health and Nutrition Representative. In 1996, she went back to Johns Hopkins University as a Visiting Professor. In addition, she now works as the New York State Commissioner of Health. Called by some "the symbolic doctor of all Americans," Dr. Novello continues to live up to the highest possible standards in her medical career.

For further information on Dr. Antonia Novello and other scientists, below are some additional resources that may be helpful.

• Hanson, S. L. (1996). Lost Talent: Women in the Sciences. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
• Morse, M. (1995). Women Changing Science. New York: Insight Books.
• Greenspan, K. (1996). The Timetables of Women's History. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Yount, L. (1999). A to Z of Women in Science and Math. New York: Facts on File.
• Bernstein, L., Winkler, A., Zierdt-Warshaw, L. (1996). Multicultural Women of Science. Maywood, NJ: The Peoples Publishing Group, Inc.
• Bernstein, L., Winkler, A., Zierdt-Warshaw, L. (1998). African and African American Women of Science. Maywood, NJ: The Peoples Publishing Group, Inc.
• Bernstein, L., Winkler, A., Zierdt-Warshaw, L. (1998). Latino Women of Science. Maywood, NJ: The Peoples Publishing Group, Inc.
• Grun, B. (1991). Timetables of History. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Hellemans, A., & Bunch, B. (1991). The Timetables of Science. New York: Simon & Schuster.

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