Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green

Hadiyah-Nicole Green (1981-) is an American medical physicist, known for the development of a method using laser-activated nanoparticles as a potential cancer treatment. She is one of 66 black women to earn a Ph.D. in physics in the United States between 1973 and 2012, and is the second black woman and the fourth black person ever to earn a doctoral degree in physics from The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Early life and education Green was orphaned at a young age and raised by her aunt and uncle in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the first in her family to attend college.

After her high school graduation, Green attended a summer program in computer science at Xavier University of Louisiana. She has spoken about how her experiences at Xavier and Alabama A&M led her to become a strong advocate for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by giving her a chance to get to know herself and develop as her own person. She wanted to use her background in lasers to target cancerous cells without hurting healthy cells. Specifically, she developed a method where lasers are used to "illuminate" the nanoparticles to create an image of cancerous cells and decrease the amount of time it takes to target these cells.

While conducting her doctoral research, Green was a member of the team that developed a laboratory method to insert nanoparticles into cancer cells while avoiding surrounding healthy cells. The tissue incorporating the nanoparticles heats up due to directed laser radiation, which then destroys the cancer cells. She first tested her ideas with cancer cells in a petri dish, then moved on to small animal models using mice. Her current research efforts seek to extend this nanoparticle treatment to humans.

Following graduate school, Green became an assistant professor at Tuskegee University in the Department of Material Science and Engineering.

In 2016, Green founded the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation in memory of her aunt. The goal of the foundation is to advance cancer treatment so that it is effective with minimal side effects. The non-profit foundation also aims to make cancer treatment accessible and affordable for all.

In November 2024, it was announced that Green was to be rewarded the recognition of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement award for her contributions to groundbreaking cancer treatment and research, as well as her dedication to being a leader in her field and serving her community.

Green dedicates much of her spare time to speaking to and mentoring young black students.