Vivien Thomas Scholars Initiative at Johns Hopkins University
The Vivien Thomas Scholars Initiative, a $150 million investment, was launched at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) to address historic underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, and prepare a new generation of researchers and scholars to assume leadership roles in tackling some of the world’s greatest challenges. The initiative is named for Vivien Thomas, a renowned Black scientist who helped develop the Blalock-Taussig shunt — a cardiac surgery technique to treat blue baby syndrome — at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1940s. This gift provides permanent funding for a sustained cohort of PhD students in JHU’s more than 30 STEM programs.
To date, three cohorts of Vivien Thomas Scholars have entered the program – more than 50 scholars.