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Born in 1957 in Tuskegee, Alabama, Keith Lanier Black is an internationally recognized neurosurgeon who is well known and respected for successfully operating on brain tumors that many other neurosurgeons deem inoperable. Dr. Black performs more than 200 brain tumor operations annually.

Dr. Black's father was principal of a segregated elementary school in Auburn, Alabama, who encouraged his son's interest in science. Dr. Black credits his father with giving him and his siblings an attitude that they can accomplish anything. By the time Dr. Black reached high-school age, he was performing organ transplants and heart-valve replacements on dogs. At age 17, Dr. Black earned the Westinghouse Science Award for publishing his first scientific paper, a paper on the damage done to red blood cells in patients with heart-valve replacements.

Dr. Black earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in six years. He completed his internship in general surgery and his residency in neurological surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center. Dr. Black is also a researcher and teacher and is well known for his groundbreaking research. He has been a pioneer in research related to techniques that allow chemotherapeutic drugs to be delivered directly into cancerous brain tumors.

In addition, he has conducted progressive research to develop a vaccine to enhance the body's immune response to brain tumors. In 1997, Dr. Black joined Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as director of the Neurosurgical Institute. He continues to work toward his long-term goal of finding a true cure for brain cancer.

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