Though born in New York, Dr. Lisa Newman’s most important work happened in Detroit, where she served as Director of the Breast Care Center at Henry Ford Health System for nearly two decades.

During her time in Detroit, she built esteemed clinical programs that helped reshape the national dialogue around breast cancer, including triple-negative breast cancer (which disproportionately affects Black women), revolutionizing how race, genetics, ancestry, and healthcare outcomes are perceived worldwide.

Dr. Newman used Detroit’s breast cancer data to lead global research, finding patterns between African American women and West Africans.

For this work, she traveled to Ghana and spent time studying breast cancer biology, later bringing back that knowledge and using it to better inform her treatments and help assist her in training up an entirely new generation of Black medical students and residents.

Dr. Newman now works as the Chief of Breast Surgery at Weill Cornell and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where she continues her Black women-centered research and advocacy work.

That said, Detroit has remained a central point of her legacy. It’s the city where the bulk of her most transformative work found its footing, and the place where she saved countless lives through her groundbreaking research and presence in the operating room.

She firmly believes women (especially black women and the disenfranchised) deserve the best care the world has to offer, and she lives up to that standard with precision, dignity, and the utmost compassion.

She’s not just one of the top breast cancer surgeons in the US.

She’s a truth seeker—fearless, technical, and always applying all she learns to save the lives that need saving the most.

Victoria Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends. With her finger firmly on the pulse of both the city’s vibrant past and its rapidly unfolding future, she brings a deeply personal, historically grounded lens to every piece she writes.

Published on: September 30, 2025