Bert M. Petersen, Jr., M.D.
Born in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Bert M. Petersen, Jr., M.D., received his undergraduate degree from The Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, M.D. He completed his internship and residency in General Surgery at The George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and his fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City.
Throughout his 30 year career, Dr. Petersen has engaged in a crusade to eliminate healthcare disparities in people of African descent. He played a leading role with the Virgin Islands’ government in developing a state-of-the-art cancer center to care for residents of the Virgin Islands and the Eastern Caribbean.
He has spent most of his life with one mission in mind: Taking Healthcare to the People. Under his leadership as the Medical Director of Dorcas Medical Missionary Ministry, a faith-based, non-profit organization, more than 300,000 people in Ghana, Zambia, South Africa, parts of the Caribbean and Latin America have received free medical, surgical, dental, and vision care. The Mission now funds a free clinic in Tamale, Ghana.
He has founded or organized myriad outreach initiatives at beauty parlors, barbershops, churches, neighborhood community centers and provided educational seminars for physicians throughout the United States.
A former medical correspondent for WCBS TV in New York City, Dr. Petersen sits on the Board of Trustees of National Black Leadership Commission on Health and Harlem Dowling Westside Association, NYC. He has been honored with many distinguished awards and recognitions for his work, including:
• The Unsung Hero Award - The National Cancer Institute/National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer
• Breast Health Hero Award - The WNBA & NABCO
• 40 Under 40 Achievement Award - The Network Journal
• Best Doctors Of New York, Hall of Fame 2001 - New York Magazine
• 100 Best Black Doctors in The United States - Black Enterprise Magazine
• Top Doctor - Redbook Magazine
• Top Surgeons in The United States - Consumer’s Research Council of America.
Dr. Bert M. Petersen, Jr. currently serves as the Chief of Breast Surgery at Saint Barnabas Health System in the Bronx, NY.
As cancer incidence and mortality continues to rise throughout Africa, Dr. Petersen’s mission is to develop centers of excellence for cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment in West Africa and across the continent.
