“The educational foundation obtained at the USA College of Medicine provided me with the knowledge and confidence needed to pursue a nontraditional path,” she said.
A Louisiana native, Landry graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biology from Dillard University, a historically Black university in New Orleans. As an undergrad, she completed 1,000 hours of community service, was a cheerleader and homecoming queen, and was involved in the Student Government Association and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Landry participated in the University of South Alabama’s Biomedical Enrichment and Recruitment (BEAR) Program, led by Hattie Myles, Ph.D., former assistant dean for student affairs and educational enrichment at the Whiddon College of Medicine. Later renamed DREAM, the eight-week pipeline program exposed and encouraged disadvantaged and underrepresented students to consider careers in medicine.
While she was a medical student, Landry was a member of the Student National Medical Association and a recipient of the Class of 2007’s Community Service Award. “Getting to know my classmates was definitely one of the highlights of my medical school experience,” she said.
Following residency, she practiced as a traveling physician, with clinical experience ranging from providing care to Alaska Native communities to working in the Mayo Clinic Health System. Traveling across the country on temporary assignments, she cared for women in major cities and “the middle of nowhere,” disadvantaged youth, teenage mothers, and women in domestic violence situations.
Working locum tenens provided Landry the flexibility to pursue her other interest: entertainment. She created a reel – which included clips of her interviewing people on the streets of Hollywood about sex and women’s health – and posted it to her newly created website.
Her reel grabbed the attention of “The Doctors” producers, who invited her to be a guest expert on a segment of the daytime talk show. That stint led to a recurring role as a co-host of the show from 2016 to 2021. Known as “Dr. Nita,” she addressed the full gamut of medical topics and answered questions from viewers across America.
Since then, she has served as a medical expert for multiple shows, including “Dr. Phil,” “CBS National News,” “Good Morning America” and the “Today” show. She has also been featured in national media outlets like The Atlantic, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, Shape, Self, Essence and Heathline.
Landry served as an ambassador for National Women’s Health Week from 2018 to 2021 and a national breast cancer awareness campaign spearheaded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a keynote speaker, she has spoken at national female-focused events about optimizing health and closing the health disparities gap.
“My goal is to educate and uplift teenagers and women around the world,” she said. “From safe sex to teenage pregnancy to relationship drama and a multitude of other women's health issues, I look for innovative ways to tear down walls that prevent us from having open, honest conversations about female health issues.”
In her first book, “Dr. Nita’s Crash Course for Women: Better Sex, Better Health, Better You,” published in October 2022, she combined her “straight talk and science savvy” to empower women to take charge of their health and well-being.
Additionally, Landry founded a nonprofit, A Healthier, Happier Me, to help children, teens and adults from marginalized communities thrive physically, emotionally and financially. The interactive programs provide age-appropriate, life-saving information and resources that are custom-tailored to address the issues impacting participants.
Learn more about Nita Landry, M.D., at drnitalandry.com.
