Novello, Antonia (1944–)

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Novello, Antonia (1944–)

American physician and government official. Born Antonia Coello, Aug 23, 1944, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico; dau. of Antonio Coello and Ana Delia Coello (school principal); University of Puerto Rico, BS, 1965, MD, 1970; pediatric training at University of Michigan; training and residency in pediatric nephrology at University of Michigan Medical Center (1973–74), and Georgetown University Hospital (1974–75); Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, MA, 1982; m. Joseph Novello (psychiatrist), 1970; no children.

As the 1st woman and the 1st Hispanic surgeon general of the US (1990–93), pursued her own special interests, which included providing health care for minorities, women, and children, and protecting the nation's youth from the dangers of tobacco and alcohol; went on to serve as a special representative to UNICEF; initially had a private practice in pediatrics and nephrology in Springfield, Virginia (1976–77); served as a project officer in the artificial kidney and chronic uremia programs at National Institutes of Health (NIH); named deputy director of National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1986); served as a legislation fellow with the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources; became a clinical professor of pediatrics at the Georgetown University School of Medicine (1986).

See also Women in World History.