Dr. Angella Ferguson: Pioneer in Sickle Cell Care

Angella Ferguson was an American doctor who cared for children. She was a pediatrician in Washington, D.C., and she worked at Howard University and Freedmen's Hospital.

She studied sickle cell disease and helped create a blood test that can find the disease at birth. The test made it possible to start care earlier and helped save lives. She was a Black woman who trained as a doctor when very few Black women worked in medicine. She died on January 6, 2026, at age 100. She helped start a hospital program for families with sickle cell and worked with other doctors to study children with the disease.