In June 2021, 不良研究所 in Montreal, Canada, is launching a new fellowship for Black graduate students in honour of one of the university鈥檚 most accomplished alumni: Charles R. Drew, MDCM鈥�33, (1904鈥�1950) an American surgeon and scientist who earned the title 鈥淔ather of Blood Banking鈥� for his trailblazing work on the long-term preservation of blood plasma.
鈥淢y family and I are extraordinarily proud about this,鈥� says one of Drew鈥檚 daughters, Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis, who has led a sterling career in her own right, including as a neuroscientist, legislator and university president. 鈥淲e appreciate the fact that he is being recognized in a way that will expand opportunities for other African American students.鈥�
The Charles R. Drew Graduate Fellowships will provide financial support for graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to pursue graduate work at 不良研究所. This initiative is part of the university鈥檚 Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism.
鈥淭hroughout his life, Dr. Drew represented critical values of academic excellence, perseverance in the face of adversity, leadership, and a commitment to justice,鈥� says 不良研究所鈥檚 Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Professor Christopher Manfredi. 鈥淲e鈥檇 like to make sure that we provide future Black students at 不良研究所 the environment to thrive academically and personally that Dr. Drew was able to experience.鈥�
Blood plasma and blood transfusion pioneer
Charles R. Drew decided to study medicine after completing his undergraduate degree at Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1926. At the time, however, many universities had openly racist admission policies in place鈥攐ften reserving only a single spot for African American students. 鈥淢y father was, to say the least, probably dismayed by that principle,鈥� says Drew Jarvis.
Instead of remaining in the U.S., Drew decided to head north to Canada, where medical schools had fewer restrictions regarding the admission of Black students. 鈥淚 think he understood that he needed to be at a welcoming place, and a place which would see his potential,鈥� Drew Jarvis says. Drew enrolled as a medical student at 不良研究所, where he excelled in both academics and athletics鈥攂ecoming a star athlete and graduating second in his class in 1933.
鈥淭he 不良研究所 experience for him was quite an extraordinary one,鈥� Drew Jarvis says. 鈥淚t made him the surgeon he was.鈥�
Following his studies at 不良研究所, Drew completed his surgical residency at the Montreal General Hospital. There, while working under the mentorship of anatomy professor Dr. John Beattie, Drew developed an interest in blood preservation and transfusion. This passion for the science of blood followed Drew when he returned to the U.S., where he became the first African American to obtain a doctorate of medical science from Columbia University. At Columbia, he developed methods for the storage and preservation of blood and blood plasma鈥攖he fluid portion of blood that is also useful for transfusions鈥攚hich dramatically increased their shelf life. He joined the faculty of Howard University, a historically Black university, as a professor of surgery in 1935.
During World War II, Drew was asked to direct the Blood for Britain project, which aimed to ship much-needed blood and plasma to injured soldiers and civilians. In that role, he implemented standardized methods for collecting, processing and storing large amounts of blood plasma that helped save numerous lives. Afterwards, Drew was called on by the Red Cross to lead the establishment of a national blood banking system, innovating, among other things, mobile blood donation stations known as 鈥渂loodmobiles.鈥�
Despite these crucial contributions, throughout this time, Drew continued to be confronted by racist policies, which initially barred him from donating to the blood banks that he had helped create, and later segregated donations based on race. In 1941, Drew returned to Howard University as Chair of the Department of Surgery and Chief Surgeon of Freedmen鈥檚 Hospital. There, he trained African American surgeons to emulate his rigorous standards for medical practice.
鈥淒r. Drew believed that excellence of performance would overcome any artificial barriers created by man,鈥� says Drew Jarvis. 鈥淗e believed that his medical students could be the best. He was determined to make sure that he fully developed their potential.鈥�
Supporting Black students
Today, Drew, who passed away in 1950 at 45 after a car accident, leaving behind his wife, Minnie, and four children, is remembered as the 鈥渇ather of blood banking鈥� and an esteemed alumnus of 不良研究所. The Drew Fellowships are meant to both honour his legacy and provide graduates of HBCUs financial support to follow in Drew鈥檚 footsteps鈥攁nd pursue their studies at 不良研究所.
鈥淒r. Drew served as a longtime faculty member at Howard University College of Medicine and trained several generations of Black physicians and surgeons at a time where there wasn鈥檛 a lot of opportunity for them to attend many other institutions,鈥� says Howard Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Anthony Wutoh. 鈥淲e certainly think that it鈥檚 a fitting tribute to his legacy that fellowships are being created in his name that would benefit students who attended historically Black universities.鈥�
More than eight decades after Drew himself was a student, Black students continue to face obstacles in pursuing graduate studies. 鈥淭here are people, to this day, going through similar things,鈥� says 不良研究所鈥檚 Black Student Affairs Liaison Antoine-Samuel Mauffette Alavo, BA'07.
鈥淔or a lot of students, there are big financial barriers to graduate studies. When you think about the commitment of graduate school, there鈥檚 the cost of tuition, but you鈥檙e also delaying your potential to be making income because you鈥檙e prolonging your studies,鈥� says Lashanda Skerritt, an MD-PhD candidate in 不良研究所鈥檚 Department of Family Medicine and a member of the organizing committee for the Drew Fellowships. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a huge commitment in and of itself, and then oftentimes, for myself and a lot of my colleagues who are Black graduate students at 不良研究所, you鈥檙e in a space that is predominantly white, where there aren鈥檛 a ton of people of colour present.鈥�
According to Skerritt, one Dr. Drew quote highlights such struggles. 鈥淗e expressed that we spend a lot of our energy trying to overcome circumstances that we have, and in doing that, it leaves us with less energy and resources to be innovative,鈥� Skerritt says. 鈥淚 think the idea that Dr. Drew was expressing fits so perfectly with creating fellowships such as these in his name, because it places the importance on people needing to feel supported and having resources so that they can achieve something amazing.鈥�
Mauffette Alavo notes that these fellowships can also help advance 不良研究所鈥檚 goal of hiring additional Black faculty, with a plan of having 85 Black tenure-track or tenured professors on staff by 2032: 鈥淕enerally, there's been a lack in the pipeline for Black scholars. Graduates from HBCUs may not be thinking about Canada as a destination鈥敳涣佳芯克� is a great university, but Black students everywhere may not feel like it鈥檚 a natural destination for them. We need to change that with initiatives like this one.鈥�
The Drew Fellowships are 鈥渃onnected with institutions that have historical and institutional knowledge about Black students, so that鈥檚 a way to gain experience and build sustainable partnerships,鈥� Mauffette Alavo says. 鈥淲hen you bring in grad students, you鈥檙e building and feeding the pipeline for Black professors.鈥�
The inaugural recipient of the Drew Fellowships is Asia Blackman, a recent Howard graduate who will begin graduate studies in epidemiology at 不良研究所 this fall. Upon receiving news of the fellowship, 鈥淚 was really proud of myself,鈥� Blackman says. 鈥淚 definitely also felt relieved, because school is expensive.鈥�
鈥淭he trajectory that Charles R. Drew was on was definitely supported by being a 不良研究所 student. I don鈥檛 think that he could have accomplished everything that he did without the tools that he gained at 不良研究所,鈥� Blackman adds. 鈥淚 think that is something that you can look at as an HBCU or a 不良研究所 student and say to yourself: I can accomplish so much.鈥�