Opening Doors: Carla Pugh
Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons, featuring Dr. Carla Pugh
Carla Pugh, MD, PhD, assistant professor of surgery, is featured in "Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons," a traveling exhibition cosponsored by the National Library of Medicine. The exhibit highlights 13 up-and-coming African American surgeons following in the footsteps of such pioneers as Daniel Hale Williams, MD, Northwestern's first African American medical graduate, who founded Provident Hospital in Chicago in 1891.
In addition to her skills as a surgeon, Dr. Pugh is nationally recognized for her adaptation of commercially produced patient simulators for breast, pelvic, and prostate exams. She holds a patent on simulator sensors that capture hands-on performance by students and sends the data to a computer allowing for immediate evaluation. The National Board of Medical Examiners has expressed interest in Dr. Pugh's technology as a possible form of evaluation for its certification exam.
Dr. Pugh joined Northwestern four years ago. She holds a degree in neurobiology from the University of California at Berkeley, a medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine, and a PhD in education from Stanford University. Her husband, Joseph E. Towles, PhD, a mechanical engineer, is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Sensory Motor Performance Program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
This page last updated Sep 13, 2011