Alzheimer’s the Black doctor who helped decode the disease

Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller: The Black Pioneer Who Helped Decode Alzheimer’s Disease

During Black History Month, we remember the people whose contributions changed the world but whose names are not always given the recognition they deserve.

Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller was one of them.

Born in Monrovia, Liberia, in 1872, Fuller became a pioneering neurologist, psychiatrist and pathologist whose research helped advance our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease. His story is not only one of medical discovery, but also of Black achievement in the face of racial barriers.

From Liberia to Medicine

Fuller came from a family with strong connections to medicine. His maternal grandparents were medical missionaries in Liberia, while his paternal grandparents had been enslaved in the United States before gaining their freedom and settling in Liberia.

At 17, Fuller travelled to the United States to continue his education. He attended Livingstone College before studying medicine at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn and completing his medical degree at Boston University School of Medicine in 1897.

Two years later, he joined Boston University’s medical faculty.

His ambition extended beyond becoming a doctor. Fuller wanted to understand the human brain and the diseases that affected it.

Working Alongside Alois Alzheimer

In 1904, Fuller was selected by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer to work as a research assistant in Munich.

There, Fuller examined the brains of patients who had experienced dementia, studying the physical changes within brain tissue. His research included observations of neurofibrillary tangles and miliary plaques, abnormalities that became central to the developing understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.

Fuller’s work helped strengthen the emerging evidence that dementia had a physical basis in the brain. His knowledge of German also enabled him to translate and communicate important research to English speaking audiences.

Remarkably, Fuller reported on the significance of neurofibrillary tangles before Alzheimer published his own description of them. His later work included what is regarded as the first comprehensive review of Alzheimer’s disease.

He was not simply witnessing the development of a new field.

He was helping build it.

Achievement in the Face of Racism

Fuller’s achievements existed alongside the realities of racial discrimination.

At Boston University, he was paid less than white colleagues and, despite effectively leading the neurology department for a period, was never formally given the position. In 1933, a white junior colleague was promoted over him to lead the department, after which Fuller retired from the university.

The contradiction is striking.

Fuller could conduct pioneering research alongside one of Europe’s leading medical scientists, yet his own institution still placed limits on his professional advancement.

His experience reflects a wider reality in Black history. Achievement did not necessarily remove the barriers created by racism.

More Than Alzheimer’s Research

Fuller’s contribution extended beyond dementia research.

He became the first Black psychiatrist in the United States and continued practising neurology and psychiatry after leaving Boston University. He was also committed to creating opportunities for Black psychiatrists and improving care for Black patients.

His legacy therefore reaches beyond the laboratory.

He helped advance medical knowledge while opening doors for those who followed.

A Legacy Finally Recognised

Fuller continued practising until complications from diabetes caused him to lose his eyesight. He died in 1953, aged 81.

Much of the recognition for his contribution came after his death.

In 1974, the Black Psychiatrists of America established the Solomon Carter Fuller Program to support aspiring Black psychiatrists. The Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center was also established in Boston, and the American Psychiatric Association later established the annual Solomon Carter Fuller Award to recognise pioneering contributions to improving the lives of Black people.

His name had finally become connected to the legacy he had spent his life building.

Why We Must Remember Him

Black History Month is not simply about celebrating famous names. It is about restoring people to histories from which they have too often been overlooked.

Fuller’s story reminds us that Black history is also the history of science, medicine, research and intellectual discovery.

He was a Black doctor from Liberia who travelled across continents, worked alongside Alois Alzheimer and helped investigate the physical changes associated with one of the world’s most significant neurological diseases.

His Blackness matters because racism shaped the opportunities available to him.

But it should never overshadow his scientific achievement.

Fuller was a pioneer because of what he contributed.

More than a century later, Alzheimer’s research has advanced far beyond what Fuller could have imagined. Yet modern science is built upon generations of researchers whose work becomes part of a much larger story.

Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller deserves his place within that story.

A Black physician. A pioneering researcher. A psychiatrist. A neurologist. A scientist whose work helped advance our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.

During Black History Month, his name deserves to be remembered, not as a footnote to someone else’s discovery, but as a pioneer in his own right.