Dr. Yvonne Thornton, Women’s Health Advocate and Author, Speaks at Walden University Academic Residency

Minneapolis—December 30, 2014—Dr. Yvonne Thornton, a leading advocate of women’s health issues and best-selling author, addressed more than 600 doctoral students at Walden University’s academic residency on Dec. 29, at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland. Dr. Thornton, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York Medical College, led the development of early prenatal diagnostic testing.

Dr. Yvonne Thornton

Dr. Thornton was the first black woman in the U.S. to be board certified in high-risk obstetrics. She chronicled the story of her father’s dream that she and her sisters become doctors in her best-selling memoir, The Ditchdigger’s Daughters.

A double board-certified perinatal consultant and specialist in obstetrics and gynecology as well as maternal-fetal medicine, she is an outspoken advocate of women’s health issues. As senior perinatologist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Thornton established and developed the program for a new form of early prenatal diagnostic testing known as CVS (chorionic villus sampling). She was one of the original American investigators whose CVS results were relied upon by the FDA prior to its granting approval for the procedure.

Dr. Thornton was commissioned as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy at the National Naval Medical Center (now called the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center) in Bethesda, Maryland, and is a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Academic residencies at Walden support students’ academic and professional goals by connecting them with individual faculty mentors, student support staff, and hundreds of peers. During academic residencies, students from all doctoral and select master’s degree programs have the opportunity to conceptualize and develop research that contributes to positive social change.

Walden’s plenary sessions are an integral part of the residencies and are led by speakers from around the world who share their experiences and viewpoints to inspire insightful debate and lively conversation. These sessions are intended to provide Walden students, faculty and staff members with the opportunity to hear perspectives on a variety of topics that are meaningful and relevant to their lives as both scholars and practitioners.

For more information about Walden University, visit www.WaldenU.edu.

About Walden University
For more than 40 years, Walden University has supported working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and their communities. Today, more than 47,800 students from all 50 states and more than 150 countries are pursuing their bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees online at Walden. The university provides students with an engaging educational experience that connects them with expert faculty and peers around the world. Walden is the flagship online university in the Laureate International Universities network—a global network of more than 80 campus-based and online universities in 29 countries.

Walden offers more than 80 degree programs with more than 370 specializations and concentrations. Areas of study include health sciences, counseling, human services, management, psychology, social work, education, public health, nursing, public administration and information technology. For more information, visit www.WaldenU.edu. Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association, www.hlcommission.org.