Medical Student Momodou Bah Receives Inaugural Award from American Society of Black Neurosurgeons
October 28, 2024
As a teenager in The Gambia, fourth-year medical student Momodou “Gobi” Bah thought he would probably become a farmer. He had selected a sciences focus in high school to fuel his dream of becoming a physician, but he knew that agricultural science was the more realistic outcome.
Today, Bah finds himself the recipient of the inaugural Dr. Clarence Sumner Greene Sr. Honorarium Award from the American Society of Black Neurosurgeons (ASBN). For both of these distinguished men, connections with other people and a commitment to learning and hard work led them to make a difference in the world around them.
Bah joined the ASBN in part because it was difficult to find Black mentors in the neurosurgery field, where Black men and women are still underrepresented. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree at Michigan State University, he earned a master’s in public health at Wayne State University while working as a research assistant for Sonia Eden, MD, past president of ASBN.
Their work together focused on the intersection of DEI and the field of neurosurgery, addressing disparities on both the patient and provider side. It was this research work, along with a personal statement and letter of recommendation, that earned him the award. “Sometimes you write all these papers and you go to these conferences and you’re talking about these things and you’re not sure you’re making an impact, so this [award] means a lot,” said Bah.
Making an impact is what drives Bah to study neurosurgery. In his home country of The Gambia, there is one neurosurgeon for the entire population of 2.5 million people. When Bah began his studies prior to 2016, there were no neurosurgeons in The Gambia at all. During his time as an undergraduate, Bah became aware of a young Gambian girl who needed neurosurgical intervention. He worked with her family to bring her to the United States, but by the time she arrived, it was too late.
Her death is what inspires Bah to keep going – and keep going he must, as he has seven years of residency ahead of him. When asked how he feels about the length of study, Bah laughed, “If someone were to do brain surgery on me, I’d want them to take that long!”
Dr. Greene, the Black physician for whom the ASBN award is named, also took a long and winding path to neurosurgery. Born in 1901 and raised by an uncle who practiced dentistry, Greene first earned his D.D.S. before pursuing medicine and general surgery. Barred from a neurosurgery residency in the United States due to his race, Greene studied cutting edge neurosurgical techniques in Montreal, Canada instead.
He brought what he learned back to the United States and became the Chief of Neurosurgery at Howard University. Greene’s expertise elevated the standard of care at the Freedmen’s Hospital (now Howard University Hospital) in Washington, D.C. during a time when that establishment was crucial to the health of Black Americans.
Like Greene, Bah intends to bring the skills he will learn back to his home country in some way. While he could return to The Gambia permanently to work as a neurosurgeon, Bah thinks he might be able to make a greater impact by thinking outside the box. Thanks to his master’s in public health, he is uniquely equipped to someday create a nonprofit organization that could send neurosurgeons to The Gambia for a month or two each year to not only do surgeries but train local medical professionals, too.
This award seems uniquely fitting for Bah. He believes God led him to this path of caring for others via neurosurgery through people like the four-year-old Gambian girl. He credits Eden, his mentor, as well as the ASBN committee and board, for their involvement in his studies; as well as his wife Alexis, for always supporting him on this long journey.
Reflecting on his path to neurosurgery, Bah said he’s grateful for the opportunities he has found at MSU as both an undergraduate and a medical student.
“If I could choose again, I would choose MSU.”
By Kayla Crum
Student Success 
Fourth-year student Melanie Valentin received the AAMC ACE Award for Advocay, Collaboration, and Education. Her leadership and activism, including organizing a national summit to support diversity in health care, earned her ethis prestigious recognition.