Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons Home > Contemporary Pioneers > Dr. Alexa I. Canady

Alexa Canady (1950- ) is a leading pediatric neurosurgeon and educator.

Her “patient-care first” approach, her ability to set her patients at ease, and her down-to-earth attitude have all contributed to her success as a pediatric neurosurgeon.

Dr. Canady believes that “Surgery is a service business. You provide a service as unobtrusively as possible. But you must be human. In order to provide good quality care, it is so important that patients are able to talk to you and not regard you as some deity above them.”

Born in Lansing, Michigan, she came from a well educated, intellectual family with a strong tradition of public service where education and intellectual pursuits were encouraged. Alexa attended school in the predominantly white public school system and excelled in academics.

She attended the University of Michigan completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology in 1971 and received her medical degree from University of Michigan's College of Medicine in 1975.

Dr. Canady completed her surgical internship at New Haven Hospital - Yale University and became the first African American woman neurosurgery resident in the United States when she was accepted as a resident at the University of Minnesota.

Much of her surgical career was spent at the Children's Hospital of Michigan where through her efforts the neurosurgery program achieved national recognition as a top pediatric neurosurgery department in the United States. After only four years at Children's Hospital, she became chief of the neurosurgery department at the age of 36. She retired after 18 years having trained all four of the remaining neurosurgeons.

Her academic career was spent at Wayne State University where she held the position of professor and vice-chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery. She was a well respected teacher and received the Teacher of the Year award from Children's Hospital of Michigan and the Distinguished Service Award from Wayne State University.

During her career, Dr. Canady engaged in research to make advances in neurosurgical techniques. This research led to the invention of a programmable antisiphon shunt to treat hydrocephalus, an abnormal accumulation of fluid inside the brain, for which she shares a U.S. patent with two fellow neurosurgeons.

Dr. Canady is currently semi-retired and a pediatric neurosurgeon at Sacred Heart Medical Group in Pensacola, Florida.

Although she had no ambition to be the dean of a medical school, she passed on her knowledge through her hands-on, “patient-care first” techniques, instilling these qualities in the surgeons she trained and those she worked alongside.

These images of Dr. Canady were created by students at Lincoln Elementary School in Dubuque, Iowa as part of a project titled Amazing Americans.

• B.S. University of Michigan, 1971
• M.D., University of Michigan, 1975
• Surgical Intern, Yale University, 1975-76
• Neurosurgery resident, University of Minnesota, 1976-1981
• Chief of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital Detroit, Michigan, 1987
• Peter Schotanus Endowed Professorship in Pediatric Neurosurgery , Wayne State University, Detroit
• Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Sacred Heart Medical Group, Pensacola, Florida