Endowed Professorship Honors Sickle Cell Research Advocate

On May 5, 2014, the Department of Internal Medicine hosted a reception to announce the appointment of Dr. Wally R. Smith as the inaugural holder of the Florence Neal Cooper Smith Professorship in Sickle Cell Disease Research. This appointment marks a milestone for the Division of General Internal Medicine and the efforts of Florence Neal Cooper Smith who has spearheaded a fundraising effort to endow a professorship.

“I am truly honored to hold this professorship that is named for a remarkable woman who has worked tirelessly for more than four decades to increase awareness of Sickle Cell Disease and raise funds for research,” said Dr. Wally Smith. “Florence continues her work and is a champion for the MCV Campus and a hero to me.”

The Florence Neal Cooper Smith Professorship is the first endowed professorship to focus on Sickle Cell Disease research and one of a handful of endowed professorships named for an African American Woman.

In 1969, Florence Neal Cooper Smith organized Richmond’s first city-wide survey with the help of local civic, social and community organizations, to determine the extent of Sickle Cell awareness in the surrounding localities. In 1972, Dr. Robert B. Scott, Jr. worked with Florence Neal Cooper Smith to establish the innovative Virginia Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Program at MCV. Through their efforts, Virginia now screens all newborns at birth for Sickle Cell Disease.