Rosalind Abernathy
| Rosalind Smith Abernathy, M.D., of Durham, North Carolina, died, Thursday, June 17. Rosalind Smith Abernathy served on the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics from 1957 to 2012.
She was an early pioneer and known internationally for her clinical care, advocacy and innovative disease management for tuberculosis and sarcoidosis. At her recruitment, Abernathy was only the third full-time Pediatrics faculty member at UAMS.
Many colleagues were fortunate to work with and know both Rosalind and her husband, the late Dr. Robert Shields Abernathy, a former Chair of Internal Medicine and leader in the Infectious Diseases Division, who died in 2016 at their home in Durham, North Carolina.
Abernathy received her undergraduate degree in chemistry and her medical degree from Duke University. She trained in Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota and Duke University, where she went on to complete an Allergy fellowship. She was also a research fellow at the University of Minnesota with Robert Good, a pioneer in allergy and immunology disorders.
After the recruitment of Robert and Rosalind Abernathy to UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital in 1957, Dr. Rosalind Abernathy lent her expertise and leadership to the Cystic Fibrosis Center, the Allergy Clinic, rural health programs, and the Arkansas Department of Health Maternal and Child Health and Pediatric Tuberculosis programs. She is remembered as a tenacious advocate and caring, consummate physician for children and families in Arkansas.
Memorial services will be scheduled in the weeks ahead, and that memorial contributions can be made to the Little Rock Friends (Quakers) Meeting or the Durham, N.C., Friends Meeting.