Jeanne Cady Solis: an early woman academic neurologist and an avid mentor of women.
Publication Title
Journal of neurology
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-8-2025
Keywords
History, 20th Century; Humans; Female; Mentors; Neurology; Neurologists; Physicians, Women; History, 19th Century; Diversity; Education; History; Mentorship; Women in medicine; Women in neurology.; oregon; portland; diversity
Abstract
When she accepted an unsalaried position as Assistant to the Professor of Nervous Diseases and Electrotherapeutics at the University of Michigan in 1892, Jeanne Cady Solis became possibly the first women to take a faculty position in any neurology department-but she had other important contributions to medicine and science. She encouraged and supported other women in research and academia, with leadership roles in the medical sorority Alpha Epsilon Iota and the Women's Research Club of the University of Michigan. For 7 years, she offered a prize from her own funds for the best published research in medicine or science done during the year by a woman at the University of Michigan-won notably in 1926 by neuroanatomist Elizabeth Crosby. As president of the Women's Research Club, she created a loan funding program for women's research. These small efforts made meaningful differences in the careers of women in the early 1900s, allowing them to mentor and inspire generations of women.
Area of Special Interest
Neurosciences (Brain & Spine)
Area of Special Interest
Women & Children
Specialty/Research Institute
Neurosciences
Specialty/Research Institute
Pediatrics
DOI
10.1007/s00415-025-13533-y
