Dr. Angella Ferguson: Pioneer in Sickle Cell Care

Angella Ferguson was a pioneering pediatrician who worked in Washington, D.C., and who trained at Howard University College of Medicine. She served on the staff of Freedmen's Hospital and later held leadership roles at Howard University. While treating children, she noticed a high number of sickle cell cases and she began systematic studies that were published in medical journals in the 1950s and 1960s. Her research helped set clinical guidelines for care and was shared with other doctors.

She helped develop a blood test that could detect sickle cell disease in newborns, and that test has been used widely in the United States. Although newborn screening expanded slowly, her work meant children were diagnosed earlier and offered treatment sooner. Furthermore, she helped start hospital programs to support families and she worked with colleagues to build local services. She also oversaw the construction and renovation of a pediatrics unit at Freedmen's Hospital in the 1960s and 1970s. She retired in 1990 and died on January 6, 2026, at age 100. Since her studies were widely read, many hospitals changed how they tested infants for blood disorders, and pediatricians were better prepared to treat sickle cell crises.