Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, one of the first African American women in the nation to earn a Ph.D. in physics, holds the distinction of being only the second African American woman and the fourth African American to receive a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She humbly served as Miss Alabama A&M University 2002-2003 and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. After serving two years at Tuskegee University in the Departments of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering, she is currently an Assistant Professor at Morehouse School of Medicine in the Department of Surgery.
With more than ten years of interdisciplinary research experience, Dr. Green specializes in developing targeted cancer therapies using lasers and nanoparticles. Her expertise lies at the intersection of nanotechnology, immunotherapy, and precision medicine. She is noted for the development of several patent-pending cancer treatments that have had no observable side effects in laboratory mice, which is a preliminary study to testing with human subjects. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) recently awarded Dr. Green a $1.1 million grant for the ongoing research of her 4-in-1 system for early detection, imaging, targeting, and selective treatment of head and neck cancers. More importantly, it supports the further development of a platform cancer therapy that uses laser-activated nanoparticles to completely eliminate tumors after a single treatment.
Dr. Green’s ultimate goal is to translate these treatments from the laboratory into humans to demonstrate efficacy in a variety of cancer models, including those in head and neck, breast, colorectal, brain, lung, ovarian, cervical, pancreatic, anal, skin, and prostate cancers. In all, this more than $200 million endeavor could lead to saving some of the 8.8 million people who die each year from cancer worldwide.
Beyond her academic role, she founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation (www.WeAreOraLee.org) – named in memory of her late aunt who raised her. Dr. Green has intertwined her life’s purpose into the mission of the organization: to change the way cancer is treated and reduce the suffering of cancer patients by providing a treatment that is accessible, affordable, and most importantly, effective.
For her groundbreaking work, Dr. Green was recently presented the Key to the City and the Historic Icon Award by the City of Selma, Alabama; the Research Advocate of the Year Award by the Southern Company and Perennial Strategy Group; the Distinguished Trailblazer Award by The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter; and the Trailblazer of the Year Award by the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. Additionally, Dr. Green was awarded the 2016 Root 100 by The Root magazine and the 2016 Power 100 by Ebony magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential African Americans” in the United States.