Judith Kaur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Judith Salmon Kaur | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1945 (age 80–81) |
| Alma mater | University of North Dakota University of Colorado Boulder |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Mayo Clinic |
Judith Salmon Kaur (born 1945) is a Native American oncologist who is Director of the Native American Programs in the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. According to Indian Country Today, Kaur is one of only two Native American oncologists working in the United States.
Kaur is of Choctaw and Cherokee heritage[1] and is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.[2] At the age of five, her Choctaw Nation grandmother told her that she was "meant to be a healer,".[3] She was the first member of her family to graduate from high school, and, after graduating from Augustana College, started her professional career as a teacher.[3] Whilst working as a teacher, Kaur had a daughter and got married. Her husband would come home to see her spending her evenings reading Scientific American.[4] Her husband eventually challenged her to apply to medical school, and in 1975 she was accepted to the University of North Dakota Indian Health Service's Indians into Medicine Program (INMED) programme, which supports Native Americans and Alaska Natives in pursuing careers in healthcare.[5] She originally intended to earn her medical degree and move back to the reservation to work in family medicine.[6] In her third year of medical school, Kaur decided to specialise as an oncologist.[5] She eventually completed her medical degree at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.[6]
