Keith Black was born on September 13, 1957 in Tuskegee, Alabama. His parents Robert and Lilian both worked in education. From a very early age Keith was interested in biology. As a teenager Keith joined an apprentice program at Case Western Reserve University where he learned basic laboratory skills. He worked at Clevelands St. Luke Hospital where he learned to perform transplant surgeries and heart valve replacements on laboratory dogs.  From his observations at the Cross-Jones lab he wrote his first scientific paper at the age of 17.  He was published at 17 and won the national Westinghouse Science Talent Search competition. Black attended the University of Michigan where he completed the accelerated program and completed his undergrad and medical education in 6 years. Black also completed his residency and internship at the University of Michigan. 

In 1987, Black joined the medical school at UCLA and became an assistant Professor of Neurosurgery. That same year he also won the Harold Amos Fellowship. In 1993 that Bradikinin