Alumna Ala Stanford to host book signing on Nov. 8
Dr. Ala Stanford, a Penn State Eberly College of Science alumna and recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award, is visiting the Penn State University Park campus for a book signing on Nov. 8 from 11 a.m. to noon at the Penn State Bookstore in the HUB-Robeson Center.
Stanford’s new book, “Take Care of Them Like My Own: Faith, Fortitude, and a Surgeon's Fight for Health Justice,” outlines her personal journey from attending Penn State to becoming a doctor and surgeon and eventually making an impact on thousands of people, specifically underserved communities in her home of Philadelphia, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It offers lessons about the power of communities working together to take care of one another and has been listed as No. 1 on the Amazon bestseller list in three categories: medical biography, public health, and racism and discrimination.
On Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. in the Flex Theater at the HUB-Robeson Center, Stanford will present a talk titled “Leading Change: A Conversation with Dr. Ala Stanford,” where she will be speaking to the Penn State community, including prehealth and premed students, about her journey into medicine and beyond. She will share how she started at Penn State as a biology major with a goal of becoming a pediatric surgeon and eventually became a national leader in health equity and a cornerstone in the Philadelphia community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
About Ala Stanford
Ala Stanford, M.D., graduated from the Penn State Eberly College of Science with a bachelor of science degree in 1991 and from the Penn State College of Medicine with a doctor of medicine degree in 1997. She is a pediatric surgeon, founder of the Black Doctors Consortium and a national leader in health equity, a health-care policy adviser, and former regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of the mid-Atlantic appointed by President Biden. Stanford is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the School of Arts and Sciences with additional appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine and Annenberg School for Communication. A practicing physician for over 20 years and founder of R.E.A.L. Concierge Medicine, Stanford is board certified by the American Board of Surgery in both pediatric and adult general surgery. She is a medical and health correspondent for national media outlets.
More information and access assistance
For more information about the lecture, or for access assistance, contact Tracey Moore at tsc105@psu.edu.