Canady specialized in pediatric neurosurgery and served as the chief of neurosurgery at the Children's Hospital of Michigan from 1987 to 2001. [15], During her years at the Children's Hospital of Michigan, Dr. Canady also continued research with Wayne State University. In her long career as a pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Alexa Canady operated on thousands of young children and made history along the way. Well, everybody fails at some time or another. But Canady refused to give up, and was eventually accepted as a surgical intern at Yale-New Haven Hospital. [11], In 1982, after finishing residency, Dr. Canady decided to specialize as a pediatric neurosurgeon, becoming the first African-American and the first woman to do so. Gladys West, ne Gladys Mae Brown, (born October 27, 1930, Sutherland, Virginia), American mathematician known for her work contributing to the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Her parents taught Canady the importance of hard work and learning, which helped her to graduate from high school with honors. While she was originally concerned about how her peers would react to her, she immediately acquired respect for being a patient-centered surgeon. //