High-school-educated Vivien Thomas spent decades as a research assistant to renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Alfred Blalock. Yet Thomas made up for his lack of pedigree with talent.

“Something the Lord Made” is a splendid docudramatic retelling of the intertwined lives and careers of Dr. Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman) and his longtime technician and research assistant ...

Vivien Thomas was the ‘technician’ who helped Dr. Alfred Blalock and Dr. Helen Taussig develop the ‘blue baby’ operation at Johns Hopkins.

Cooley continued at Hopkins as intern and resident, and assisted Dr. Alfred Blalock in the first blue-baby operation in November 1944, which corrected a deadly heart defect.

Thomas learned to perform operations and remained invaluable to Blalock throughout his career.Thomas supervised the surgical laboratories at Johns Hopkins University for over 35 year.

‘Technician’ showed surgeon what to do Adviser: Vivien Thomas helped Dr. Alfred Blalock and Dr. Helen Taussig develop the ‘blue baby’ operation.

Dr. Alfred Blalock, a brash, egotistical Georgia native who in 1943 was named head of surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, changed that. But he wasn’t alone.

At a time of strict racial conventions, Dr. Alfred Blalock, a wealthy, white Southern surgeon, formed a remarkable partnership with his black assistant, Vivien Thomas.

Dr. Zuidema chose not to do postgraduate training under the legendary Dr. Alfred Blalock, co-creator of the 1944 “blue baby” operation in cardiac surgery, and instead went to Massachusetts ...

Dr. Irving Sorkin, who died of lymphoma at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Oct. 18 at 88, finally saw his dream come true three years ago, with the 2004 HBO movie “Something the Lord Made.&#82… ...